Saturday’s UNC-Duke game marked not only the close of the regular basketball season, but the final appearance of graduating senior players in the Dean E. Smith Center.
UNC blew Duke out, 91-73, on Senior Night, with upcoming graduates filling the limited seats of the Dean Dome or watching the rivalry elsewhere — for the last time as undergraduate students at UNC.
Staff writer Sophie Seoyoung Cho asked UNC seniors, “Where and who did you watch the game with, and how did you feel?”
Calia Johnson, business administration major
“I watched the game in the Dean Dome with the same roommates I’ve had since freshman year. Being friends with some of the senior basketball players and coming into college with them as well, it was very emotional seeing their growth over the last four years, but in general just realizing it’s one of our last experiences at the Dean Dome, singing the alma mater. It literally brought tears to our eyes.”
Grace Kim, advertising and public relations major
“I got tickets and went to watch the game in the Dean Dome with my boyfriend. It felt really surreal — I hadn’t been in a space with that many people in a long time, and I didn’t expect to go back there before I graduated. For the first time in a long time, I felt a sense of normalcy. At the end, when the senior players were talking about their last time playing in the Dean Dome, I realized it was also my last time watching there. It was sad but also really happy.”
Bram Raets, business administration major
“I watched it with my family and it was an incredible experience.”
