Coming to live in America with an unfamiliar culture, and to then play basketball on a team of women who have all played together before is not an easy task. However, Carlotta Gianolla has successfully made that transition as a member of the Kennesaw State women's basketball program.
 
The Marcon, Italy native admits that the encouragement and kindness she has received from her teammates and coaches have made all the difference her freshman season.
 
"Here in the U.S it is more family, like the team, it's more like a family," she said.
 
That family atmosphere has helped Gianolla and the Owls advance to the ASUN Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals where they will play top-seed and regular-season champion Stetson Wednesday in DeLand, Fla. A win will send KSU to its first championship game.
 
During the Owls' advancement to the semifinals, Gianolla has been a key contributor to their success, as she leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg.) and rebounding (6.4 rbg.), while recording 17 double-digit scoring games.
 
Those numbers and the success of the team helped Gianolla earn unanimous ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year honors and selection to the All-Freshman team.   
 
"Basketball in Italy is much different," Gianolla said. "The energy is different, and the players here are more physical.  In the U.S., the game is faster and there is more energy and that was my problem in the beginning. I was a little bit frustrated, but now it is better."
 
Head coach Agnus Berenato eagerly recognizes the impact that Gianolla has had on the team after virtually missing seven games due to an injury suffered in the season opener at Vanderbilt.
 
"She brings energy to the team," Berenato said. "I think that she is extremely athletic and is a rim runner. She runs from rim to rim and we really don't have anyone else who does that."
  Gianolla has benefited from her experience playing in Europe and competing at a high level in her native Italy.
 
She spent the 2016 summer practicing with the under 20 Italian National Team that went on to compete at the European National Championship in Portugal. It is her ultimate dream to represent Italy this summer in the European Championship. She views this season at KSU as another stepping stone that will help her accomplish that goal.
 
Gianolla, who has been invited to try out, hopes be a part of the Italian National Team that will travel to Spain to compete in the European National Championship in July. A total of 16 players are invited to try out, with only 12 making the European Cup team. After a month of training, the roster will be cut down the day before the team leaves for the tournament.
 
Gianolla knows that this is her year to compete in this prestigious tournament. "I am feeling confident that I can get there," she said. "You always have to work hard and you can't have down days because the one day that you're down is the day that you're cut. And obviously, you have to have a good attitude. But I will be ready because I work. I try, I try, and I try."
 
Berenato expressed that she has made it a priority to do whatever she can to help Gianolla reach her dream of making the team and representing Italy.
 
"Coach B is why I'm here, and I'm very happy because she has really helped me. She has helped my attitude the most and is always on me about that," Gianolla said. "This is what I want because if she weren't on me, I wouldn't care. I would continue to play how I was playing, but I am getting better."
 
Gianolla was actually a beautiful ice skater before she picked up a basketball. She admits, with a chuckle, that she thought basketball was for boys. Her dad, Andrea Gianolla, was a professional basketball player in Italy and convinced her to try to play the game as a 12-year-old.  As her first basketball coach, her father greatly influenced her love for the game.
 
"And when I stared playing, I knew it was going to be my passion," she said.
 
In addition to her dad's guidance, Berenato has been a constant source of motivation and encouragement to Gianolla.
 
She never planned on coming to KSU to play basketball. With several offers from other universities here in the U.S., Gianolla eventually narrowed her choices down to Indiana University and Kennesaw State. After her initial FaceTime conversation with Berenato, she felt KSU was exactly where she was meant to be.
 
"Like you know when you feel something, like when you say, oh my gosh…this is where I'm supposed to be. Here I feel good," Gianolla said.
  She confesses with no hesitation that her attitude is what she looks to improve on in the off-season as she prepares for the European Championship and sophomore season at Kennesaw State.
 
"I need to always work on my attitude," she explained. "As a person, I look like I am strong but I am not. One thing can make me so frustrated. I expect a lot from myself."
 
Although she has the tendency to be tremendously hard on herself, that intensity and passion has helped her succeed. Gianolla's teammates and coaches can all agree that she brings a contagious amount of energy to the game at all times, an attribute that really adds to the morale of the team as a whole.
 
"Charlie is just such an athlete and has such a nice soft touch.  Due to her athleticism, she can take a turn around and score, make a layup or take three dribbles and score," Berenato said. "We don't really have that, that's a whole facet that she's added to the team."
 
A three-time ASUN Conference Newcomer of the Week, Gianolla's athleticism and talent is obvious to those who watch her play.  
 
However, most are unaware of what a kind and sensitive person she is because she hides it when playing. Gianolla wears a hard attitude on her face when she plays, but Berenato recognizes that it is the Italian in her.
 
"I think that she has really added a tremendous dynamic to our team," Berenato said. "And off the court, she is extremely upbeat, positive, fun and sweet. She is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful person. "

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook. Follow Coach Berenato on Twitter @KSUCoachB.   
 
 

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