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(E) Mira Topic Croatian in Texas - setting numerous records
http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/8205/1/E-Mira-Topic-Croatian-in-Texas---setting-numerous-records.html
By Nenad N. Bach
Published on 10/23/2002
 

 

Mira Topic Croatian in Texas 

 setting numerous records

A family player
10/22/2002 5:00 AM
By: John Hygh

You can tell how much Mira Topic loves her family and her home country just from the pictures in her dorm room.

"I'm very, very close to my family. Like to my mom, to my dad, to my sisters. We are like very, very close. And I miss them so much like very, very much. It's hard, it's very hard," Topic said. Topic is an outside hitter for the Longhorn's volleyball team.

Topic is from Croatia and her family lives overseas.

"She almost has tears in her eyes when she talks about them (her family). And the excitement, because she can be homesick. I mean it's one thing to be a true freshman and be far away from home, but she's thousands of miles from home. And has been very strong in coming to a new culture," said Jerritt Elliott, the head coach.

As a sophomore, Topic's already set several school records for the team. But it's not what she's done on the court that makes her special.

After saving her money over the summer working volleyball camps, Topic bought airplane tickets for her parents to come watch her play in the states for the first time.

"I think it's awesome. I don't see how she does it. Coming over here, a new language, a new environment. And the fact that her parents are coming back over here to see her play here in Austin. I think it's awesome," said Whitney Graves, a defensive specialist for the Longhorns.

Now even though her parents haven't seen her play in person for the past couple of years. Thanks to the Internet and an interpreter they can hear what she does during a game.

"It's really cool. Waking up in the morning around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning their time to watch the game. They're all sleepy and like, 'Oh, we watched you yesterday,'" Topic said. "I'm just counting the days. I'm just counting the days. It's very nice. It's like mentally nice they're coming and I'm very excited because they've never been here." 

Her parents will be here next month for the Colorado and Nebraska games. They'll be in town for a week and a half before heading back to Croatia.

Copyright ©2002TWEAN News Channel of Austin, L.P. d.b.a. News 8 Austin

 


(E) Mira Topic Croatian in Texas - setting numerous records

 

Mira Topic Croatian in Texas 

 setting numerous records

A family player
10/22/2002 5:00 AM
By: John Hygh

You can tell how much Mira Topic loves her family and her home country just from the pictures in her dorm room.

"I'm very, very close to my family. Like to my mom, to my dad, to my sisters. We are like very, very close. And I miss them so much like very, very much. It's hard, it's very hard," Topic said. Topic is an outside hitter for the Longhorn's volleyball team.

Topic is from Croatia and her family lives overseas.

"She almost has tears in her eyes when she talks about them (her family). And the excitement, because she can be homesick. I mean it's one thing to be a true freshman and be far away from home, but she's thousands of miles from home. And has been very strong in coming to a new culture," said Jerritt Elliott, the head coach.

As a sophomore, Topic's already set several school records for the team. But it's not what she's done on the court that makes her special.

After saving her money over the summer working volleyball camps, Topic bought airplane tickets for her parents to come watch her play in the states for the first time.

"I think it's awesome. I don't see how she does it. Coming over here, a new language, a new environment. And the fact that her parents are coming back over here to see her play here in Austin. I think it's awesome," said Whitney Graves, a defensive specialist for the Longhorns.

Now even though her parents haven't seen her play in person for the past couple of years. Thanks to the Internet and an interpreter they can hear what she does during a game.

"It's really cool. Waking up in the morning around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning their time to watch the game. They're all sleepy and like, 'Oh, we watched you yesterday,'" Topic said. "I'm just counting the days. I'm just counting the days. It's very nice. It's like mentally nice they're coming and I'm very excited because they've never been here." 

Her parents will be here next month for the Colorado and Nebraska games. They'll be in town for a week and a half before heading back to Croatia.

Copyright ©2002TWEAN News Channel of Austin, L.P. d.b.a. News 8 Austin