The Capital University women's basketball team will embark on a 10-day trip to Italy from Thursday, May 31, to Sunday, June 10. The Crusaders will play three games during the tour, making stops in Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome along the way. Sports Information Director Chris Lindeke chronicles all the action, from Columbus to Italy, and back to Columbus. Visit the Capital Women's Basketball Web page for the latest updates.

NEWARK, N.J. – Welcome to the official Capital University Women's Basketball Italy Tour Blog! As I write in a food court in Terminal B of the Newark Liberty International Airport, the majority of the travel party is enjoying lunch at Wendy's.

During the course of this 10-day journey, I hope to give you an inside look at the games, tours and ventures of coach Dixie Jeffers and the rest of the 21-person travel party, which includes players, coaches, support staff and their family members, over the next week and a half.

The day started with a bus ride from the Capital Center to Detroit Metro Airport for the first leg of our flight, with a final destination of Milan. Because the ride began at approximately 5:11 a.m., the assumption that it was a quiet, three-hour ride would be accurate. There were periods of conversation throughout the ride, but for the most part, it was as silent as the team's locker room following a loss. Our bus driver, John, was clearly a seasoned veteran, getting us to the airport safely and rather quickly.

Being the savvy leader she is, Coach Jeffers, who became the seventh coach in NCAA Division III history to eclipse the 600-win mark in January, provided the team with bagels and cream cheese. Food seems to keep everyone happy.

With over 20 people in our travel party, it looked like a little bit of a circus as we waited to check in and check our bags at the United gate in Detroit. As it turns out, the United staff placed us on an earlier flight, so we had to hustle a little bit to board the flight. Coach Jeffers and assistant coach (and 2012 OAC Women's Golf Co-Coach of the Year) Lindsay Reynolds did a nice job of squiring everyone to security, where everyone got through in good time and made it to the flight as the final boarding call was made.

The flight went about as well as it could have, which is to say it was uneventful. Not to jinx the trip, but if that's an indication of how things are going to go over the next 24 hours, we're off to a good start. My inside sources tell me it was the first-ever flight for graduated senior Shalena Hawkins and sophomore-to-be Cassie Prenger. Other than the nervous looks on their faces right as the flight took off down the runway, they seemed to be fine the rest of the way.

We took a train to our next terminal, bringing us to this point. I'm told sophomore Erin Maldonado got stuck in the doors as they were closing, but other than that, there were no hiccups.

At this point, we have about six hours until our flight from Newark to Lisbon, Portugal, is scheduled to depart. We are slated to arrive in Lisbon at 5:55 a.m. local time before heading to Milan at 8 a.m. After getting to Milan at 11:40 a.m. local time, we are to take a tour of downtown Milan before heading to Venice. The team's first game is Saturday at 6:30 p.m., or 12:30 p.m. in Columbus.

There are no guarantees as to what we'll have for internet, but I will do my best to blog daily, so be sure to check back.

Buono giornata!