Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1160216
20 WAC Magazine | wac.net Meet the athlete Kristine Sommer By Mae Jacobson Team USA rugby player Kristine Sommer came to the pitch as a student at UC Santa Barbara. After playing four years for the Gauchos, Kristine moved to Seattle in 2012 to play for the Emerald City Mudhens. She then joined the Seattle Saracens, helping the team take home back-to-back Division 1 titles in 2015 and 2016. Kristine joined the USA 7s team in 2016 and was selected for the U.S. Women's World Cup squad in 2017. Along with being a member of USA Rugby, she plays internationally and is a member of the WAC women's 7s team. Q. What's your favorite part about rugby? A. Rugby gives you a sense of confidence and empowerment. It's given me so many attributes that have helped me in my personal and professional life. It is also so easy to create an instant bond with other players. I've met some of my best lifelong friends through the rugby community. Q. Tell us about your most recent rugby season. A. I was lucky enough to be invited to play with the London Harlequins for the 2018–2019 season in the Tyrrells Premier- ship. e team finished second in May of 2019. It was the most athletic development I've had in such a short period of time. I got to play with international players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Q. What does your future hold? A. Currently, I have my eyes set on the World Cup in 2021 in New Zealand. I want to get more international games under my belt with USA Rugby. I'm also working on getting back to London to compete in the Tyrrells Premiership again. e world of English rugby is really excelling for the women's game. Q. Any advice for aspiring athletes? A. Be okay with things not going your way. Each day is a new opportunity to start over and re-evaluate. Richie Walker, the previous USA 7s coach, once told me to learn to become comfortable with the uncomfortable. I try to follow that every day. Instructor insights Latasha Khan | Squash Coach By Darrick Meneken Squash coach Latasha Khan grew up in West Seattle. In 1991, at age 18, she became the first person to win the juniors national girls championship and make the national wom- en's final in the same year. Ivy League schools took note, but Latasha eventually snubbed them in favor of the University of Washington, which didn't even have a team. "I didn't want to leave the West Coast," she says. "I wasn't really that serious about squash until I graduated from college." She got serious quickly enough. Aer graduating, she joined her sister Shabana on the professional women's tour and went on to win seven U.S. titles and 10 Professional Squash Association titles. She exited the pro singles circuit in 2015 and now plays professional doubles. Latasha's success came as no surprise to those who know the Khan family. Latasha is one of eight children—four of whom play squash—and says that despite popular belief, the sport has more in common with tennis than racquetball. Her dad, Yusuf, emigrat- ed from India to the United States in 1968 and took a job as a tennis pro in Seattle. Yusuf went on to help establish the squash culture in the city and even worked as the squash pro at the WAC for some time. "A lot of people, if they want a workout, they switch from racquetball to squash," Latasha says. "With racquetball, when you get better your rallies get shorter. With squash, your rallies get longer. You're never standing around." Off the court, Latasha is an amateur photographer. She also does marketing consulting on the side. As for her ap- proach to coaching? "e first thing is to just let people hit the ball," she says. "I don't even explain the lines or the rules right away. Because if you can't hit the ball, you can't play." —Latasha Khan offers private and group squash coaching by appointment. Schedule with Athletic Programs Manager Darin Barr at 206.464.3074 or dbarr@wac.net. living fit instructor insights / meet the athlete C O U R T E S Y K R I S T I N E S O M M E R A N I TA N O W A C K A