The beginnings of a record-breaking Hawkeye career

Born in Hawaii and raised in Spring Valley, California, “Lagi” as Tausaga’s friends and teammates call her, may not have been prepared to comprehend what living in Iowa City was going to be like when she committed to the Hawkeyes. But she was excited nonetheless.

“I was like, ‘Mom they have snow,’” Tausaga said. “And she was like, ‘That sounds great now…’ I thought I was going to be fine. I was ready. I thought I was ready.”

Upon arriving for the start of her freshman year in the fall of 2017, Tausaga didn’t know the difference between a sweater or a zip-up. And she sure didn’t have a winter coat.

Ignoring the advice of her Iowan teammates, Tausaga assumed she could get through the winter months with a light jacket.

“I remember showing up and they were like, ‘This is all you have for winter time?’” Tausaga said. “And I said I’d be just fine. It hit like 30 degrees and I was like, ‘This is the worst it is going to get, right? Because I’m freezing.’”

After adjusting to an Iowa winter, Tausaga quickly became attached to a place she once didn’t want to visit at all.

Tausaga began receiving heavy interest from Division I track and field programs during her junior year at Mount Miguel High School. One of her first calls was from the University of Miami, and by the end of the conversation, Tausaga had verbally committed to be a Hurricane despite having never visited the campus.

Even after that commitment, former Iowa throws coach Andrew Dubs, who coached Tausaga to a Big Ten discus title during her freshman year before accepting a job at Virginia Tech, reached out on behalf of the Hawkeyes.

“He called me and said, ‘Hey, I would like you to give Iowa a try,’” Tausaga said. “And I was like, ‘Where? What is this place?”

Tausaga scoffed at the idea of visiting Iowa City. But her mother Aveaomalo Tausaga, who Tausaga said is more like an older best friend than a parental figure at times, pushed her to try new things. Tausaga is often pushed by her mother. But never in a wrong direction.

That’s how Tausaga’s athletic career began in the first place.

“It wasn’t by choice,” Tausaga said, smirking before letting out a quick laugh. “… I was a huge bookworm. And my mother was like ‘You’re super tall, you just stay in the house all day.’ And I was like, ‘But I have my books. Leave me alone.’”

That rebuttal on Tausaga’s part didn’t amount to much.

Tausaga’s mother drove her to the high school, and unbeknownst to Tausaga, she was about to walk into a volleyball practice. Eventually, Tausaga also picked up basketball, but a suggestion from her coaches pushed her to the sport she’d eventually become a champion in.

As a sophomore, the basketball staff suggested Tausaga also compete in track to build up speed, an idea which was initially rejected.

“I was not going there,” Tausaga said. “I don’t want to have breathing problems on that track. I avoided it for a couple weeks and then I decided to try out. [The coaches] said, ‘We can make you a thrower.’ And I had no idea what that was or what was going on with that. In a sense they just reassured me that I didn’t have to race competitively. So I said, ‘Sign me up.’”

Throwing became Tausaga’s niche. It was what she thought about when she was on the volleyball or basketball courts; what made sense when other things didn’t. Tausaga’s new love of track was evident in her results.

Tausaga became a two-time all-state honoree in a competitive California track and field environment. The results on the track brought interested colleges hoping to persuade Tausaga to join their programs.

Pushed into the trip by her mother, Tausaga visited the UI campus the same week she was supposed to make a trip to Miami. Nia Britt, a California native who joined the Hawkeyes as a thrower in 2016, hosted Tausaga on her official visit.

Tausaga spent the tour trying hard to act like she didn’t enjoy the idea of becoming a Hawkeye.

But within a week, Tausaga withdrew her commitment to Miami and decided her future would be set in Iowa City.

“Our biggest pitch is to do something different,” Woody said of recruiting athletes who aren’t from the Midwest. “You’ve been living in this environment your whole life. Also, just being part of a family atmosphere and in a competitive environment. We have a great team environment and we’re a really good team competing to win Big Ten championships. So I think that’s a big draw for a lot of athletes.”

Since saying a temporary goodbye to the West Coast and making the Hawkeye State her college home, Tausaga has enjoyed Iowa City’s slower pace and small-town atmosphere. She gets to watch the trees change and enjoy an environment in four different seasons, a favorable adjustment in Tausaga’s mind compared to living in California.

Tausaga has never regretted making her recruiting trip to Iowa City. Her only regret in that regard is that she didn’t invest in a coat soon enough.