Cara Consuegra '01 Community and Commercial Recreation

Hometown: Mt. Airy, Maryland

"When I visited the UI, everyone here made me feel so comfortable. I was excited about both the basketball program and the academic opportunities. Now it feels like home. It's like being part of a big extended family. . ."

Basketball has been a part of Cara's life since the second grade. Growing up in Maryland, her love for the game kept her working hard, and she became a standout player at Mt. Airy's Linganore High School. More than 100 colleges tried to recruit her. But she chose Iowa, because of the quality of the athletic and academic programs—and because of the supportive Hawkeye family.

As a four-year starting point guard, she's gone on to break the UI record for career assists and lead the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten tournament championship, and is among an elite group of Big Ten players to have career totals of more than 500 assists and 1,000 points.

Hawkeye fans have been grateful for Cara's commitment and heart. And she's been grateful for their support. "I hope the fans understand how much we appreciate them," she says. "We know they're there and what their support does for us.
It really means a lot."

Cara is the 2000-2001 recipient of the John and Mary Ann Colloton Women's Basketball Scholarship, the kind of endowed support that any successful program requires. And beyond that, she benefits from the outpouring of annual support from I-Club members, which helps maintain the equipment, facilities, medical aid, and academic support that a student-athlete needs to stay at the top of her game.

I-Club contributors have delivered a crucial assist in helping Cara forge success on the court and in the classrooms, a fact that she knows well: "Hawkeye fans are always there for us, in good times and bad," the first-team All-Big Ten player and 2001 Big Ten tournament MVP says.
"That's what I love about Iowa."

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