University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Mary Wilson Avant
April 26, 2018 | Softball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
When Mary Wilson Avant sat down for a Quick Chat after practice Tuesday, the Georgia sophomore had only a few hours before been named the SEC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career. It was a well-earned honor for a player having a superb season.
After a solid freshman season in which she appeared 26 times and had a 3.32 ERA, the right-hander has been dominant in 2018. A Macon native from a family full of Georgia graduates — she also played for former Georgia and Atlanta Braves player Jeff Treadway at Stratford Academy — Avant has allowed seven earned runs in 67.2 innings. Her ERA of 0.93 ranks third among all Division I pitchers.
Sitting by the field at Jack Turner Stadium, where the No. 6-ranked Bulldogs will host No. 17 Alabama this weekend in Georgia's final home series, Avant talked about her family of Bulldogs, why her ERA has dropped to almost nothing and how it's almost impossible to get any studying done on a bus.
Here's some of what she had to say:Â
Frierson: From what I've read, pretty much your entire family is made up of Georgia graduates.
Avant: Both of my parents went to school here and my oldest sister and my middle sister both went to school here — my middle sister graduated last year.
Frierson: Was there pressure to continue that or was Georgia at the top of your list all along?
Avant: Originally, when I was younger, I never thought that Georgia was a possibility for me, playing softball, but then out of the blue they were like, "We're interested." That was obviously really cool for me because I've grown up wanting to do this. It was cool to be able to do softball at a place that I've grown up wanting to play for.
Frierson: Congratulations on the pitcher of the week honor. How much does something like that mean to you?
Avant: It's really cool. I don't know, it's just special. We all work so hard to do what we do, so it's nice.
Frierson: What's something creative you do, or something creative you wish you could do?
Avant: If I could sing, I'd sing all day. I sing a lot, but I'm not a good singer. If I could sing, I'd be belting tunes all the time.
Frierson: I saw where Jeff Treadway was your high school coach. What was it like playing for him and did he pass along anything from his experiences that has helped you get to this point?
Avant: He was always focused on the big picture and not getting tied down with the little things. He also made sure we had fun with the game, which was cool.
Frierson: How have you grown the most since you got to Georgia?
Avant: I think being around this diverse group of people makes you appreciate every type of person, you want to get to know everyone. I also think mentally my game and the whole team's game has grown a lot over the past year.
Frierson: I was looking at your ERA from last year, a little over 3.0, and your ERA this season, which is under 1.0 and among the very best in the country — what's changed from last season to this season?
Avant: I don't know, I think I trust my pitches more and obviously I have a really good defense behind me whenever I'm out there pitching. They're so fun to play with and so resilient and reliable. I know that I can make a mistake and they'll have my back.
Frierson: Imagine that you evolve to where you now no longer need to sleep. What are you going to do with those extra six or seven hours a day?
Avant: Oh my gosh, there's just so many things. Hmm, I'm a big Netflixer but I don't have a lot of time to watch. I guess one thing I'd do is just catch up on shows.
Frierson: Everyone reading this probably watches Netflix, so what are your shows or movies?
Avant: Right now I'm watching "Vampire Diaries" and I'm almost done with that, which is kind of sad. "Friends" is always a go-to, a classic.
Frierson: Is there a show that the team is always talking about? When "Game of Thrones" comes back is that something everyone will be talking about?
Avant: There's a lot of us that watch "Game of Thrones" — they got me watching it this year — and we'll always be talking about that, and someone's always like, "Don't spoil it for me, I haven't seen the new episode."
Frierson: Where would you go if you were given all the time and money you needed to travel anywhere in the world? And who would you take with you?
Avant: Anywhere in the world? I'd go somewhere like Belize, somewhere like that, or maybe Bora Bora. That would be really cool. I'd take some of my best friends, like Amanda [Ablan] and some people outside of sports.
Frierson: If you could be truly great at any other sport for one day, just to experience it, what sport would it be?
Avant: OK, competitive cheerleading. Yes.
Frierson: I was not expecting that answer.
Avant: I know. In high school I really wanted to be a cheerleader; all my best friends were cheerleaders and my older sister was a cheerleader, and so I knew all the cheers. We didn't have competitive cheerleading, but it was one of those things where I wanted to do it.
Frierson: I have no idea what the different is between cheerleading and competitive cheerleading, other than one is being judged. Are they doing much different routines and stuff?
Avant: Our cheerleading squad at Stratford, it was basically a spirit squad, like rah-rah. They didn't do the big flips and stunts and stuff. In competitive, you do the big flips and tumbling and all that.
Frierson: All those flips just scare the heck out of me. It's like watching the Gymdogs, who are these amazing athletes but a lot of it I can't watch because I'm scared someone's going to get hurt.
Avant: Gymnastics would be another fun one to experience.
Frierson: Who's the funniest person on the team?
Avant: Probably Ciara [Bryan], because she's just all over the place. She says some really weird things and a lot of them are very funny.
Frierson: As much traveling as you all do, how much does it help to have funny, funny people around?
Avant: It takes some of the stress of traveling off. You're mind is on something other than the fact that you're on a seven-hour bus ride, or plane ride going somewhere.
Frierson: Do bus rides get any easier? It has to be better than high school because the buses are much nicer.
Avant: You get your own seat, but it's still a long bus ride.
Frierson: And then there's the illusion of, oh, I can study.
Avant: No. I had an accounting test yesterday and the whole way back from [Kentucky] I was like, gotta study, gotta study, but you can't spread out, you can't do your stuff. And you don't have the motivation to on the bus, either.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
