Cassidy Rowe Happy to Help Support Rise Up Sports

Kentucky junior Cassidy Rowe chatted with Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman at Wednesday’s awards event in Lexington. (Larry Vaught Photo)

Kentucky junior guard Cassidy Rowe and her teammates do not have games this week as they wait for NCAA Tournament pairings to be announced Sunday to see where and when they will play and who they will play against.

On Wednesday Rowe found time to attend the fourth annual Rise Up Sports Awards ceremony held in Lexington in conjunction with the girls state basketball tournament. Rise Up Sports was founded by Tonia Rice to give girls/females a platform and spotlight of their own.

One of the awards is named in honor of Rowe. The Cassidy Rowe Courage Award is given to a female athlete who has overcome adversity and hardship and was able to return to play at a high level like Rowe did at Shelby Valley despite multiple severe knee injuries.

Rowe shared her thoughts on Rise Up Sports and more after the ceremony.

Question: What made you want to be a part of something like this today?

Rowe: “I mean this is an amazing event. Tonia does a wonderful job making sure female athletes are heard and making sure that they’re recognized for the things that they’re doing, both on and off the court or the field or whatever it may be. I felt like it was important for me to show up because I’ve been in their shoes and they deserve all the recognition.”

Question: Does it make you feel special that you have an award named after you just like Valerie Still and Lee Wise Prewitt do?

Rowe: “I’m definitely in good company with two of the greats. It’s pretty surreal to  have the award named after me:

Question: Does this bring back high school memories for you sitting here listening to these stories from all these athletes today?

Rowe: “It absolutely does. I was listening to all the stories and I had tears in my eyes at one point because of the things that these girls have been through and the differences they’re making in their communities. It’s inspirational even to me. Even though I’m not in high school anymore just to see what the youth is doing in Kentucky is amazing.”

Question: Do you ever miss the fact that in high school you sometimes make even a bigger difference in your community than you can in college because you have more time to do it?

Rowe: “I’ve been very blessed at UK to  have so many opportunities to give back and to have the platform to speak out on certain situations. I feel like I’ve been truly blessed in that aspect.”

Question: Are you looking pretty forward to the next few weeks and what have you been doing with an open week?

Rowe: “Very excited. We’re still working, getting in the weight room. We’re getting shots in the gym. Just doing everything we can to prepare for the tournament.”