University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Profile: Matt Sternberg
October 31, 2001 | Baseball
Oct. 31, 2001
Vol Profile: Matt Sternberg
VOL PROFILE: After your knee injury last season, is there any hesitation in the back of your mind, or will that have any affect on your play?
Sternberg: I'm obviously going to be a little bit hesitant af first. It was a pretty bad injury and I had to take this whole summer off and have rehabbed it up. This is the first time I've been out playing again since the World Series. I've just got to put it in the back of my head, and move on and start trusting my ability again.
VOL PROFILE: What influenced your decision to come Tennessee?
Sternberg: My junior college coach, David Gardner, was a huge Tennessee fan. He bled orange, and he told me just to come to a visit here. Coach Simcox saw me play in the state tournament and offered me a visit. I came here and just fell in love with the place and the guys on the team. I was impressed by the weight room, the facilities and the campus itself. I just knew once I got up here it was the place for me.
VOL PROFILE: Are there any particular goals you've set for yourself this season?
Sternberg: "Well, first goal is obviously to come home with a national championship. That's pretty much everyone's goal on the team. I want to be a team leader on and off the field and just help the team out in any way I can. For personal goals, I just to be the best that I can be."
VOL PROFILE: What is your favorite or most memorable moment on the field?
Sternberg: "Winning in Omaha is the most memorable, by far. We lost that first game to Miami and it was pretty painful because we battled our butts off and we just came up short. Beating Georgia in the CWS was probably the most memorable moment because they swept us during the regular season, so we definitely had a revenge motive to play them--and we got them good when it mattered. So that was probably the most memorable one."
VOL PROFILE: What are your interests outside of baseball?
Sternberg: "Listening to music, dancing, just chilling out with some friends, and just having a good time."
VOL PROFILE: What would you like to be remembered for after you leave?
Sternberg: "Just as a good guy. Someone whose life didn't center around baseball, it was a priority, but it didn't center around baseball."
VOL PROFILE: Do you have anyone that you look to for motivation, or a hero you try to mold yourself after?
Sternberg: "Probably my father. He never played college baseball, but he was always someone that never gave up and always did his best on the field he never took losing well at all, he never accepted it and that definitely portrays me well, I don't like losing and I will do everything in my power to win."
