Women’s golf player Brooke Pancake thought April 27 would be a normal day out on the golf course with her teammates, that is, until the sky turned black.
Head coach Mic Potter told his players to go to a safe place for the duration of the storm. Most of the players went to Bryant Hall to stay and hang out until the storm passed.
“We knew that there were bad storms coming, but I guess you think that it’s one of those things you’re invincible to, that it will never really affect you,” Pancake said. “I had no idea that we would be a few hundred yards away from one of the biggest tornadoes in history.”
Pancake said she remembered watching the weather with anxiety and thinking about how her sister was. She knew that her sister was taking shelter in Tutwiler Hall.
“The last thing that happened was the weather forecaster said the tornado was headed straight for the stadium and for people to take cover,” Pancake said. “Then, it just went out. I remember thinking in that moment that my apartment was right next to the stadium.
“All of this stuff was just crossing my mind, the terror of right when the tornado had just passed through. Then we got the clear that we could leave the building. I went straight over to find my little sister.”
Pancake and her sister were both uninjured in the tornado, but Pancake had three close friends that lost a lot in the tornado. One lost their house completely.
The team had been preparing for regionals the week the tornado struck.
“This put a whole different look on how we would practice,” Potter said. “It seemed fairly unimportant relative to what was going on here.”
Despite the loss in Tuscaloosa, the team still went to and brought home the first place title at the NCAA East Regional, as well as player Stephanie Meadow earning medalist honors.
“I think, personally, I was very motivated,” Meadow said. “I felt like I was so lucky to be out there playing golf. It’s a great perspective to look at life, but when it had just happened the week before, it really emphasized it.”
Pancake said she remembers other schools wearing pins of their bags that had been made and given out to everyone to remember all that had been lost in Tuscaloosa.
“I remember getting there, and all of the coaches and teams were asking about what happened,” Pancake said. “That seemed like it was the highlight of the event.”
The team handed out meals, water and donations to people in need in Alberta City after the team came back from the NCAA Championship.
“Helping anywhere trickles down and it’s good for athletes from other places to feel like they’re part of the Tuscaloosa community and get involved,” Potter said. “They were all looking for things to do, and we were happy to do it.”
Being from Ireland, Meadow said she had never experienced a weather event like this one before.
“We don’t really have any tornadoes in Ireland,” Meadow said. “Our weather’s never dangerous or destructive like it is here. I never really knew what to expect, but I certainly know now. Every time a tornado warning comes now, you remember that day.”
Potter said the team learned how to overcome adversity that day, and they wanted to give back to the community that gave them their support.
“It had an effect on us, but I think it’s an affect that as they go forward in their lives and their careers, it’s something they’ll always remember, and hopefully whenever there’s a need, they’ll think back and be willing to help,” Potter said.
