Three-sport Greyhound grad playing college ball and crunching numbers
When Celene Funke talked with The Reporter about her sensational junior softball season at the University of Louisville, she was on her lunch break.
How is the Carmel graduate spending her summer? As a financial analyst intern at Roche in Fishers.
“Just doing some number crunching,” said Funke. She’s working in the global finance department in diabetes care for Roche, the international health care company with offices around the world. Sure enough, Funke said her branch is working with other branches in Mannheim, Germany and Ponce, Puerto Rico.
“It’s really cool to get a feel for a big company that stretches so far globally,” said Funke. “It’s something that you don’t get in a lot of internships when you’re 21 years old.”
Not very many people have accomplished what Funke has at such a young age. A three-sport athlete for the Greyhounds who also excelled at soccer and basketball, she could have played any sport going into college. Funke chose softball for the Cardinals, and it’s been a great choice.
Funke, an outfielder, was one of the leading hitters on a Louisville team that finished the season 35-23 and made an appearance in the NCAA regional. The Cardinals won their first game over Southern Illinois to move into the winner’s bracket, then beat Northwestern to go 2-0 in the regional before the Wildcats won two games to end Louisville’s season.
“We had a pretty good season,” said Funke. She pointed out that the Cardinals beat the most ranked teams since Funke came to Louisville, including a series win over Florida State. The Seminoles were ranked third in the country at the time, but the Cardinals won a dramatic third game 10-9 to take the series, the first-time ever they won a series with FSU.
“It was a huge win for us and it really put us on the map,” said Funke. “Solidified our regional berth.”
Funke also got national recognition, as she led the country in triples. Hitting triples isn’t easy to do, but Funke hit 13 of them during the season.
“This year I started hitting away, and it opened up another part of my game,” said Funke. “My coach knew that she really wanted to use my speed. And then my best friend Sidney would hit me in a lot of the time.”
“I wouldn’t say I was doing anything specific, but I was putting the ball in the right spots and my speed helped me out to push me to three,” said Funke.
Sidney Melton is Funke’s roommate and best friend, and they were the two leading hitters for the Cardinals this season. Melton batted .338, while Funke hit .324. Funke and Melton also went 1-2 in runs scored and overall hits: Funke had 48 runs and Melton scored 47, and Funke had 67 hits and Melton 66.
Funke said Melton started the year as the leadoff, but they decided to try Funke in that position after a while. It worked, as Funke said she had a better batting average when she led off.
“That was exciting for me,” said Funke. “The team really came together well. The lineup was definitely ever-changing, I don’t know if her we ever solidified 1-9.”
Whenever anyone got hot at the plate, they were put in the lineup. “We utilized all of the different parts that we had and were able to bring it all together and use people when they were hot,” said Funke.
Funke received an honor off the field when she was named to the First Team Academic All-American. It was the second consecutive year that she earned that award.
“Academics has been a huge part for me,” said Funke. “I know I can only play softball for so long.”
Funke was one of two sophomores to be named First Team last year, and this year became the first player in Louisville academic history to get honor twice.
“I take a lot of pride in what I do in the classroom, so it was pretty cool to get recognized for it,” said Funke.
The work paid off in another way: Funke graduated from Louisville in three years with a major in finance.
“Since I went to Carmel and it’s such a big school, I was able to take a ton of AP classes,” said Funke. She entered Louisville with 26 credits. “So I basically had a year under my belt,” she said.
Funke also took summer classes, so she didn’t have to pack in 18-hour semesters. As a result, she had a light class load for her junior year, with 12 hours in the fall and 13 hours in the spring.
“So it wasn’t super duper difficult to graduate in three,” said Funke. “I knew going in I had the opportunity to do it. If I could get a year of my Masters paid for with softball, it made sense.”
Funke will be in a 20-month online Masters program as the fall begins, and will also be working in a part-time job for Raymond James. She’s happy she was able to graduate early “so I could get work experience and have a less stressful senior year so I can focus on making it the best season yet.”
“I’ve also thought about playing overseas,” she said, “one last hurrah with softball before I hang up the cleats for good.”