August 6, 2004

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A new coaching staff and a veteran team will leave the Virginia Tech campus Saturday morning as the women's basketball team begins a 12-day exhibition tour of Australia. The competition will be the first for the Hokies under new coach Beth Dunkenberger.

Tech center Erin Gibson (Galax, Va.), the lone senior on the team, will compose a daily diary throughout the tour which will be available, along with photos, on www.hokiesports.com. A summer tour outside of the United States once every four years is allowed under NCAA rules with the Tech women's last venture overseas occurring on the team's 2000 Europe trip.

The trip to the island continent will be a long one. Tech will depart the Blacksburg campus on Saturday, Aug. 7 at 11 a.m. and bus to Charlotte, N.C. for a 2-1/2 hour flight to Dallas, Texas, then fly three more hours to Los Angles, Calif. The Hokies will depart Los Angles at 11:45 p.m. (PT) for the 14-1/2 hour flight to Sydney, Australia, crossing the international date line in the process, and actually arriving in Sydney on Monday morning (8/9). The time differential between Sydney and Blacksburg is 14 hours.

After arriving in Australia, the Hokies will have a busy schedule including five games and lots of sightseeing. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, the team will have a guided tour of the world famous Sydney Opera House and tour the Taronga Zoo which overlooks the Sydney Harbour. The Hokies get down to business later that evening with a 7 p.m. contest against the HSE Blues.

Tech will have a day off on Wednesday (8/11) with a scheduled trip to The Rocks, a popular area near the Harbour featuring a variety of shops and restaurants, where portions of "Mission Impossible II" were filmed. The day will also include a trip to Manly Beach.

The Hokies will face tough opposition when they return to the hardwood on Thursday (8/12) for a 3:30 p.m. contest against the Australian Institute of Sport, the Aussie junior national team. The game will be preceded by a men's game featuring Nebraska vs. AIS. Following the game, members of the team will have several sightseeing choices including a visit to Darling Harbour, a waterfront leisure park and home to the Sydney Aquarium, while the thrill seekers in the group will experience the Harbour Bridge climb, a 3-1/2 hour guided 465-foot climb to the bridge summit above Sydney Harbour.

Tech departs Sydney on Friday (8/13) for the second stop on the trip in Brisbane. The first couple of days will include visits to the Australian Woolshed where players will have the opportunity to hand feed kangaroos and hold a koala. On Saturday (8/14), a trip to the Australia Zoo, The Crocodile Hunter's famous zoo and home to over 750 animals, is on the agenda prior to a 7 p.m. contest against SEQ Invitational.

The final day in Brisbane will feature the fourth game of the tour at 5:30 p.m. local time against a team yet to be determined. The Hokies will have the remainder of the day and evening for various sightseeing opportunities before leaving on Monday (8/16) for their final stop in Cairns.

After arriving in Cairns, the Hokies will bus to the Wild World Animal Park and later to the Undersea World Aquarium to view over twenty different reef habitats. On Tuesday (8/17), a visit to the Great Barrier Reef awaits the team before Tech plays the final game of the tour, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., against the Cairns Dolphins.

The long odyssey back to Blacksburg begins on Thursday (8/19) with a 3 a.m. departure from Cairns and a three-hour flight to Sydney before the long trip to Los Angeles. The Hokies are scheduled to return to Blacksburg late Thursday evening.