Every student-athlete has a story, details about themselves and their background that extend beyond just the playing field and athletics. 

Throughout the summer, we will take a look at the members of the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team and get to know more about them, the student-athletes who are representing not just their home communities, but also the University, Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland as they don the purple and gold. We asked the team to provide 10 facts about themselves that they want you, the fans, to know about them. 

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Today's subject is sophomore Olivia Koontz, a center/forward out of Signal Mountain. With nearly 2,000 points scored and a decorated player out of the prep level, Koontz provides height and a physical presence under the basket.

Here's 10 things Koontz wants you to know about her:

1. Three out of my four high school travel season years, I was injured and had to see a lot of doctors. Additionally, I have always had an interest in the medical field – my dad is a pediatric surgeon – because I grew up hearing about it. Both things have caused me to want to attend medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon after graduating from Tech so I can help athletes get back to doing what they love.
2. I ironically have a 'wings up' tattoo on my ribs. Everyone says that I am my father made over and he has always been one of my biggest role models. All my life, he would make a 'hang loose' gesture with his hands. I even have a picture that he sent me after he had 11 pins put into his wrist doing it. So I decided to get a tattoo of a Shaka hand, but as soon as the needle hit my skin, I realized that it's also the 'wings up' sign for Tech. I guess it's just in the stars that I'm here!
3. I have a Great Dane named Nova and her crate is so big that I could comfortably sleep in it. She is the sweetest puppy and eats about nine cups of food a day.
4. I got a 100 on my first chemistry exam and now my nickname is 'Wiki'.
5. I'm scuba certified and have dove in five different countries so far. My favorites have been Bonaire and St. Croix.
6. I grew up in the kitchen and now I am a great cook. I would rather bake and make sweets, but I've been told I can do it all.
7. I absolutely love plants, especially succulents. So much so that I used to have a monthly subscription that would send me two new plants a month.
8. I'm actually such a nerd. I love to read and learn; I research just about any question that pops into my head and my brain is filled with random facts. Science and math are what I enjoy most, in fact my major is biology with a focus in health sciences.
9. During quarantine, my family decided to buy some chickens. One of them developed an impacted crop (where part of their digestive system gets clogged so they can't eat or drink). So my dad and I performed surgery on this chicken and fixed her up. She got about 8 stitches and went happily back to the flock.
10. The first month I was at Tech, two of my teammates and I decided to do stick and poke tattoos (it's like an at-home tattoo using a sewing needle). Next thing I know, basically the entire team showed up and I ended up doing about 16 tattoos in one night. The coaches asked about them the next day and I was known as Cookeville's newest tattoo artist. I'm still waiting on Coach Alli to come and get hers done.

Photo | Jim Dillon