Re: “Analyzing the morning of and after the Bulls’ game,” by Tony Marquis, March 20.

Being that Tony Marquis is a commentary writer, I understand that his article may come off negatively opinionated. However, I do not feel that the women’s basketball team’s loss in its first NCAA tournament game warranted the extremely negative and literally sickening comments he had to share regarding the game. The group of women played extremely hard to the very last second and only lost by two points after having a several-week layoff from legitimate competition on the court; and for Mr. Marquis to go so far as to make a mockery of them riding a chartered jet (among other things) is ridiculous and uncalled for.

A game like that will and should stay in the minds of those ladies forever for two reasons: One, they will remember how it feels to lose a game of that importance by two points. That’s one field goal of the thousands that they attempted throughout the course of a season that could have made the difference. It will drive them to shoot thousands more and come back next season with an even stronger motivation than ever before. Two, they will remember the incredible journey they struggled through in order to achieve that historic NCAA Tournament berth, which will be a landmark in USF athletics for years to come.

At the time of the loss, and certainly for the days that followed, the team most likely experienced the sadness that accompanies a tough loss. I find it entirely cruel and downright mean for Mr. Marquis to add insult to injury in the manner that he did. These women should be respected and admired for what they have accomplished. Yes, they lost, but they did so with dignity and grace; and for anyone to try to take that away is worse than any loss could ever be. These women will find happiness and pride in what they have done, and unlike Mr. Marquis believes, it was truly a night to remember.

Justin Rizer is a freshman majoring in biomedical science.