Wisconsin volleyball hopeful messy arrival in Turkey brings good luck

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The welcome to Turkey came in different forms for members of the University of Wisconsin volleyball team as they arrived for the start of their 12-day European tour early Saturday morning.

The Badgers got to Istanbul around 6:30 a.m., local time, following a flight of more than 10 hours from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

The first order of business was a traditional Turkish breakfast at 464 Yenikoy, a well-known restaurant just across the street from Istanbul Bogazi, the body of water that separates the European and Asian parts of this city of more than 15 million people.

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But the trip got off to something of a messy start for senior middle blocker Caroline Crawford. She was targeted by one of the many seagulls shortly after stepping off the bus.

“Within 10 steps of getting off the bus I got pooped on,” said Crawford, whose phone took a direct hit, with the splatter impacting her bag and shirt. “But it’s good luck, so that’s all that matters.”

That mishap did little to dampen the team’s enthusiasm for its first Turkish dining experience as they feasted on a wide variety of small plates served family style.

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“The food just kept coming and it was all just so good,” Crawford said.

Some of the offerings were familiar, such as a basket of assorted breads, a cheese and fruit plate, salad and olives. Others had a distinctive Turkish touch, including mihlama, a cheese, butter and cornmeal concoction with the consistency of grits; menemen, an egg dish with tomatoes, peppers and spices; and kaymak, a thick cream spread that when combined with honey was picked as the favorite part of the meal by several players.

Gulce Guctekin, a native of Turkey, said the meal was a typical everyday breakfast in her home country. “We love breakfast,” she said. “We skip lunch.”

The highlight of Guctekin’s day, however, would come a few hours later when she got to see her parents, Ali and Ferdi Guctekin.

Guctekin knew her parents were planning to come to the team hotel in Besiktas, more than an hour from their home in the Uskudar area on the Asian side of the city. But she was caught off guard when she got back to the hotel after a walk around the neighborhood with her teammates.

“My dad jumped out and was like, ‘Oh, there’s my favorite girl,’” Guctekin said. “I had goosebumps, I was so excited. I’m laughing all the time. I missed them because I hadn’t seen them for six months. I just felt like hugging them.”

When they weren’t hugging their only daughter, her parents also met each of the players and had an extended conversation with coach Kelly Sheffield.

“I’m so glad they met with everyone else on the team,” Guctekin said. “I could never imagine my teammates meeting them.”

Her parents will get their first chance to see Guctekin play for the Badgers in person during their three matches in Istanbul.

In addition to being well-fed at breakfast, Temi Thomas-Ailara was reminded of why she chose to transfer from Northwestern to UW for her final season of college volleyball.

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Thomas-Ailara said the camaraderie and joyful spirit she saw during her recruiting visit has proven to be a part of the daily existence.

“I’m so happy I chose Wisconsin,” said Thomas-Ailara, who just joined the team for the start of practice for the trip after completing her coursework at Northwestern. “This is the first time I’ve had a team meal with them since my visit. It was great to see that nothing really changed. They were who they are on my visit and they are still the same people now. Just knowing that it wasn’t just a show on your visit, but it’s who they actually are is so nice. They’re always so happy and inviting and grateful for every opportunity they have.”

One of the main missions of the day was to keep everyone awake after the long overnight flight in which most players got minimal sleep.

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“We want to keep everyone awake today so that you’ll sleep tonight in order to adjust to the time change,” Sheffield wrote in a note to his team. “If people sleep now and have trouble sleeping tonight it’ll take a lot longer to adjust.”

To keep their activity level up, the players took a walk along the waterfront after breakfast and then after checking into their hotel they went on a fairly extensive hike around the hilly neighborhood.

The Badgers then got into volleyball mode with a 90-minute practice before dinner.

The Badgers will play VakifBank, one of the top club programs in Istanbul, on Sunday in what figures to be the first of seven matches on the trip. The team will take a ferry over to the Asian side for the match.