Feuerbach makes return to Ames
Every student-athlete at the University of Iowa is familiar with the Cy-Hawk rivalry. It’s a big deal. Bragging rights over your in-state rival? Who doesn’t want that?
However, very few athletes see both sides of the rivalry. Transferring from Iowa to Iowa State over vice versa is a very rare sight, but Iowa sophomore guard Kylie Feuerbach did it and tomorrow she will be back at her old home court to face off against her former teammates.
Nervous? Motivated? Excited?
“All the ones you just said I’d say…I’m obviously motivated, but treating it like any other game, said Feuerbach on the trip to Hilton. “It is going to be pretty cool, a little bit weird, but I’m excited for it.”
Feuerbach played her freshman year with the Cyclones last season, starting 24 of their 28 games. She averaged 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, but decided to enter the transfer portal after the season.
“It just wasn’t a good fit for me…I just didn’t think it was the right place for me.”
Both her parents attended Iowa State, as well as her brother and her grandfather Orlyn Gene Feuerbach played for the men’s basketball team back in the 1940’s. Despite all of that, Kylie decided to make the move across state to the rival school, but says that rivalry connection didn’t really weigh on her decision.
“That didn’t really have any factor with my transferring, but I knew I had to mentally prep for that, just knowing that it’s a huge rival and that it can sometimes be kind of tough,” said Feuerbach on the decision.
“I love it (at Iowa). I think the team chemistry is amazing and everyone is supportive of each other…I feel like every day that I come here I am always happy and it’s just fun…When you’re playing the sport that you love, you want to be in an environment that is fun.”
Now of course, with the transfer to a rival school, you may have to deal with your former team’s fanbase giving you a hard time and Kylie jokingly says she has prepped for the worst.
“I think it’s best to expect the worst, so that it won’t be the worst, but honestly I haven’t put a lot of thought into it…They (always) have huge crowd, so kind of prepping for that.”
The Cy-Hawk games are always big games for the both fanbases and its little stories like Feuerbach’s that add to the excitement of the whole thing.