By:Megan Turk | JWOS Contributor
One of the most decorated players in Minnesota program history, Sara Groenewegen’s trophy case is full of awards from her stellar career as a Gopher, with a number of program records and high-level statistics to her credit. During her career in Minneapolis, Groenewegen was a three-time all-American selection and was twice named the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year, also earning the conference’s Player of the Year trophy in her sophomore campaign.
Groenewegen was a four-time all-Big Ten first-team selection, and earned a quartet of all-region nominations during her time as a Golden Gopher, including three times being named to the 1st team. For her career, Groenewegen recorded 107 wins, with a 1.64 career ERA and 1,214 strikeouts.
With her alma mater reaching the Women’s College World Series for the first time in program history, Groenewegen stopped by to chat about the Golden Gophers, the WCWS, her career with Team Canada, and last year’s injury scare.
Justin’s World of Softball: What are your thoughts on Minnesota getting to their first-ever WCWS?
Sara Groenewegen: Watching this team’s run has been quite the emotional roller coaster. Playing for the Gophers was the best four years of my life, and at some point I feel it is necessary to try to close the yearbook. However, a HUGE part of my heart will always be with this program. Yes, everyone wishes they could have done it while they were on the team, but I believe the current team has done a good job at acknowledging the alumni and how much was put into the program before the current team even wore a Gopher jersey. So with that being said, I am extremely proud of how far our program has come. I will be the first to say it is bittersweet to see the program go without me on the field playing, but I am extremely happy for the program and that the current players are receiving the respect that they deserve.
JWOS: Can you give us some thoughts on the field of eight and maybe some stand-out pitchers you’ve noticed over the season and what they may bring to the circle this week?
Groenewegen: I might be a little biased when I say I am a huge fan of pitching and that it is the most exciting part of the game. It has been really awesome to see Amber Fiser blossom into the pitcher that she has become this season. I obviously think that it is exciting the see the Gophers against Rachel Garcia of UCLA – clearly one of the best in the nation after her POY recognition. I am also excited to see how Oklahoma fares. I think overall, they have the best collective staff, and I am excited to watch it all pan out.
JWOS: How you feel your experience at Minnesota helped build a foundation of excellence within the softball program to propel them to this year’s WCWS?
Groenewegen: I simply cannot take all of the credit for ‘building the foundation’. The foundation was laid by the junior class when I was a freshman (Katie Richardson, Erika Smyth.. etc). They were freshmen in [Jessica] Allister’s first or second year in the program, I believe, and seven of them started. I saw this and knew that something was being built. The awesome thing about our program is that everyone bought into what Coach Allister was saying, and people wanted to win for more than just themselves. The program was being built off of pride, doing the little things right, integrity, grit. Things that don’t just come to teams. I cannot thank Coach Allister enough for developing me into the woman I am today, but also to the girls who I took the field with. I know we, as an alumni group, were all very emotional once we witnessed this team win their Super. We are all extremely proud.
JWOS: Your experience as a Graduate Assistant at Oklahoma under Patty Gasso; what did you take away from that experience and how you feel the Sooners match up against the field this season
Groenewegen: Although my time at Oklahoma was short (I decided to move home to fully commit to my athletic career with team Canada), I did learn a lot under coach Gasso. To hear that I was being sought out for a position under one of the most successful college coaches in the past twenty years was quite an honor; how could one say no to that opportunity? I learned how much work it takes to create a program that appears to be seamless to the players – where all they have to worry about is going to class and playing ball. I got to experience a lot of behind-the-scenes work that one doesn’t even know of as a player. I learned how much family means to her, and how she treats her players like her own daughters. She wants these girls who come in as freshmen to leave her program as strong women. I think all players who play under coach Gasso are positively influenced by her and her program.
JWOS: What contact you’ve had with your old teammates and/or coaching staff since they beat LSU in the Super Regionals and what has that interaction been like?
Groenewegen: I reached out to a few players to let them know how proud I am of them. To go to OKC and just soak it in. All of their hard work is paying off and that this part of the season will be the most fun they will ever have, if they let it be. I also let coach Ritter know how proud I am of her! She continuously develops pitchers into All-Americans – it’s quite incredible. I miss having her as a coach, and I’m happy for Amber getting to learn from one of the program’s greatest pitchers of all time.
JWOS: Tell us about your experience with the Canadian Wild, playing in the NPF, and what you want viewers of the WCWS to know about the 2019 NPF season.
Groenewegen: So this will be my second time playing in the NPF (first time since 2017). I think going into this season of the NPF, it is completely different than my rookie year. The Wild consists of our entire Team Canada roster; we didn’t even draft one rookie. I think that makes us quite unique, but allows us to build on the foundation we have created as a team. I am excited for this season, as we will be facing some of the best competition in the world. So with that being said, viewers should know that some of their favorite college players do end up playing in the NPF. I think the biggest issue is that people straight up don’t even know that the league exists. College softball is extremely exciting, but you know what, so is the NPF. Every game is a dog fight. Right now, it just lacks the profile and support compared to the NCAA game.
JWOS: Update us on your health following your medically-induced coma, missing out on the 2018 World Championships, and how you’ve bounced back and gotten into shape following such a scary moment.
Groenewegen: So the summer of 2018 something extremely out of the ordinary happened; by no means was I expecting it. How does one prepare for a virus that was contracted through an airborne virus? It is quite scary and to be honest, I am a little more nervous to fly and travel since we really never got an answer as to where I contracted my illness. However, one can’t live in constant fear and anxiety, so I try my best to just live life and not think about what happened. It’s quite funny to me (now that I am recovered), but people will stop me in the middle of a conversation because I will say something like “when I woke up from my coma” and they’ll be shocked. To be honest, it doesn’t even feel like it happened to me, yet last summer I was days away from living my last. I recovered way faster than anyone anticipated. I was back training with the team in mid September, and PR in our fitness testing in November. I think the whole event just gave me perspective and to never take this game for granted, because I learned that it can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I knew that I wanted to keep living the dream of competing for an Olympic qualifying team, so I wanted to make sure I did everything in my power to get back to myself.
