Oct. 31, 2002

By Adam Lucas
Tar Heel Monthly

Tar Heel Monthly is the premier magazine devoted to the stories and personalities behind UNC athletics. Click here for subscription information.

The following is from the upcoming issue of the magazine.

Senior outside hitter Malaika Underwood is one of the stalwarts on this year's Carolina volleyball team, which earlier this season achieved the highest national ranking in Atlantic Coast Conference history. The Tar Heels host No. 23 Georgia Tech Friday night at 7 p.m. in Carmichael Auditorium. We caught up with Underwood, who along with the rest of the team urges all Carolina fans to "Cram Carmichael" as the Tar Heels take on the Yellow Jackets in the biggest home match of the season.

Tar Heel Monthly: You've achieved the highest national ranking in ACC history. Could this be the year that UNC volleyball finally gets some respect?
Malaika Underwood: I think our success over the past few years has put us in a position to be recognized as a top team. Being ranked No. 11 is great, but if we don't do well in the NCAA's it doesn't mean anything.

THM: How does a native of San Diego get interested in the University of North Carolina?
MU: I was being recruited to play volleyball and basketball at several different schools. Coach Sagula asked me to come take a visit, and I thought, 'Why not?' I was impressed by the atmosphere and I wanted to get away from home. I knew about the tradition at Carolina, both athletic and academic.

THM: You played baseball, not softball, in high school. How did that come about?
MU: I started in tee-ball just like most girls and boys. I just stuck with it, and after eighth grade I had to decide if I wanted to stay with baseball or play softball. I had never played softball, and I loved baseball, and still do. I called around to several high schools and proposed that I try out for baseball. I wasn't wanting special treatment, but I wanted to make sure that I would get a fair shot. I didn't want to go somewhere that they would cut me because I was a girl, and there were a couple of schools that were clear that they felt that way. I wound up finding a place where I could play baseball, and I played two years with the junior varsity and two years with the varsity.

THM: Answer something that has perplexed thousands of frustrated baseball players. How do you hit the curveball?
MU: You just have to stay with it. You have to keep your front shoulder in, because if you bail out, you're in trouble.

THM: Nomar or Derek Jeter?
MU: Nomar, definitely. I like Boston. I hate the Yankees.

THM: Doesn't everybody?
MU: I thought so, but our coaches are Yankee fans. (Ed. note: Head coach Joe Sagula is from the Bronx)

THM: You said in an article recently that you'd like to have Dick Baddour's job. Is that something you want to pursue?
MU: I'm applying to the sports administration program here, and it would be my dream to be the athletic director here. I know I'll have to take some jobs that aren't my dream job initially in order to get my name out there and get some experience. But if things work out, I'd like to be back here eventually.

THM: If you're the athletic director at UNC right now, what is first on your agenda?
MU: This isn't exclusively through the athletic director's office, but something going on right now that is very important are the efforts to raise money for each individual sport. That's a great idea. It's something we could use to pay assistant coaches and make it easier for coaches to work here. A lot of time coaches can't afford to coach here, or other schools like this, because you're basically having to live in bagels.

THM: Should student-athletes be paid?
MU: We get a lot of benefits already. I don't know about a salary, but some sort of stipend to help with living expenses might be good. It's a full time job playing a sport, but we can't get a part-time job to wait tables and get some tips.

THM: You've been on the Dean's List six straight semesters. What's been your hardest class here?
MU: Business 71. It's a financial accounting class that is a prerequisite for the Business School. Initially I was a business major, so I had to take it. The professor, C.J. Skender, is great and I really enjoyed it, but it's really hard.

THM: NASCAR-is it a sport or not?
MU: I don't want to offend people who watch NASCAR. It takes some skill and physical ability to drive at 200 miles per hour, but I'm not ready to call it a sport. Just because it's not a sport doesn't mean I think I can do it. Bowling isn't a sport, but I can't go out there and bowl a perfect game every time.

THM: Who is the most impressive person you've ever met?
MU: I call my dad the Renaissance Man. He's redone our whole house. When my mom started going kayaking with a friend of hers, my dad just decided it would be fun to build a kayak, and now he's built two of them. He makes his own coffee, and I've heard he makes the best espresso on the West Coast. He does a lot of stuff like that.