In this season of March Madness, Bill and Jeanne Huemann have a huge personal stake. They are on their way to Springfield MA for the NCAA Division II tournament, for the third year in a row.
You may recall that their son John Smith is a star of the Winona State University, MN, basketball team. Now, this Wedneday, John and his teammates will be making their third consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight of the tournament.
John's sophomore year, Winona won the national tourney, and last year, they lost in closing seconds of the championship game, a finish that still seems unbelievable. Jeanne says that because of the pairings this week, the toughest game of the tournament may be the first game the Winona team will play, on Wednesday night, the 26th.
Go, Warriors!
In additional excitement, for the second year in a row, John has been named Division II Player of the Year, and following the tournament, he and his mom and dad will be headed for San Antonio for the Final Four where the Player of the Year presentations are made. (NCAA Division II is made up of 290 universities and approximately 4500 players, a fact which makes John's receiving this recognition for the second straight year a huge compliment to him!)
Congratulations, John, and Bill and Jeanne, too!