Kate Martin Approves of Former Iowa Teammate's Goal in Moving on From Basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team has cultivated a tight-knit, familial culture in the locker room that has translated into unprecedented success.
This is conveyed on the court by Iowa making it to two consecutive NCAA championship games over the past two seasons and is displayed off the court by the great relationships Hawkeyes players have built with each other, which have remained strong even after their college careers have ended.
Kate Martin is a great example of this. Not only is she still best friends with Caitlin Clark, but she has remained close with multiple other former players.
Former Hawkeyes center Monika Czinano was a big part of Iowa's success in the 2022-23 NCAA season, and was another player both Martin and Clark were good friends with.
On Sunday, Czinano made a major announcement about her future via her TikTok account.
"I played overseas last year in Hungary. I love it, wouldn't trade it for the world," Czinano said in the post. "And once I got done with it, I was studying for the MCAT the whole time... got back, took the MCAT... my ultimate dream has kind of always been to become a doctor. And I feel very fulfilled with basketball.
"And because of that, I feel very content with it, and I'm kind of ready to take the next step," she continued. "I feel good about it, I want to be a doctor, and so that's kind of where my life has pivoted to."
Monika life update!! I can’t fit it all on here but it’s on her tiktok! pic.twitter.com/sZH4ia2gBM
— rachel (@juiccebox1) November 25, 2024
Essentially, Czinano has announced that her basketball playing days are done so she can pursue becoming a doctor.
And it didn't take Martin long to show her support of Czinano's seismic decision by commenting, "I love this 🥰," on her TikTok post.
Martin and Czinano's bond clearly remains strong despite them being in different places with their respective careers.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.