Before the players at the Men's and Women's Final Fours took center stage in Houston and Dallas, respectively, a few of their student-athlete peers did so for a few minutes with their voices.
Grace Muir, a rower at Texas, sang the national anthem before the semifinals of the Women's Final Four on Friday night, and a representative from each of the four teams at the Men's Final Four did the same before Saturday's semifinals began.
For each, the opportunity was uniquely meaningful. Learn a little bit about each of them below:
Grace Muir, Texas
Muir's connection to college sports runs deep.
Her grandfather and great-grandfather were both Division I track and field athletes at Wyoming and Iowa State, respectively. Her father played lacrosse at Princeton, winning an NCAA title in 1992. Her mother was a heptathlete for Princeton's track and field team.
Muir, however, did not start her college experience at Texas as a rower.
"Sports kind of reentered my life when I came to college. I walked on to the crew team this year, and it's absolutely changed my entire life in so many ways," said Muir, a junior. "I have the most incredible support system of strong motivated women who always have my back, and I'm there for them, too."
The fact that rowing opened the door for her to sing the national anthem at such a stage was the latest example of its benefits.
"I think it's a blessing any time you get to sing anywhere for any reason, so I take it as such. I almost get more nervous to row," she said. "Texas is a school that really cares about its athletes and gets us everything we need to succeed, so it's always an honor to (represent) Texas."
Erica Solomen, UConn
There was a point in Erica Solomen's life where she was more into music and theater than sports. Solomen said she even had an opportunity with Nickelodeon at one point, but her parents "shut that idea down" in an effort to give her a normal childhood.
"That's why I got into sports," said Solomen, a senior for UConn's field hockey team last fall.
Part of two Big East Conference championship teams at UConn, Solomen said she's started to lean back into her love for music recently. She expects to release her first song, "Boomerang," this month.
For Solomen, the opportunity to sing the national anthem brought both talents full circle as she combined an individual talent with a team setting.
"Honestly, I've never done much harmonizing with others in the past (like this), so this is like the first time of me learning it, and it was the coolest thing," Solomen said. "I really related it to athletics, personally. I like working with a team. It was really cool seeing how some people can go higher. Some people can hit lower notes. Just seeing all of our voices blend together at the end … it sounds super beautiful."
Caleb Chevis, Miami (Florida)
A junior for Miami's track and field team, Caleb Chevis is no rookie when it comes to singing in front of a crowd. In fact, the sprinter said singing national anthems at sporting events has become somewhat of a "side hustle."
"I grew up in church singing with my siblings. My whole family sings, so I have a big musical family. I did a lot of singing in high school and choir, and then I got to college and started to sing the national anthem a lot at different sporting events," said Chevis, who's sung at Miami football, basketball and baseball games, as well as before a Miami track and field meet. "It's something I take seriously but enjoy doing. I'm happy I get to do it on this level."
Chevis said those experiences built a perspective in him to manage nerves and emotions in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of people.
"I think one thing I focus on is any time I got nervous I just realize it's because I care and that I have a passion for success and doing the best that I can," he said. "I just focus my energy on trusting my talent, trusting our group and knowing we can do well, as opposed to thinking about failure, because that doesn't help anything. I just focus on that positivity and making the most of the opportunities."
April Ranches, San Diego State
A women's golfer at San Diego State, April Ranches said her student-athlete experience prepared her for the moment to sing in front of 70,000-plus people at NRG Stadium in Houston.
"You just have to focus on and take that experience from when we have galleries watching us at tournaments. Also, public speaking opportunities I've had through SDSU athletics have been a really good training for me, too," said Ranches, a senior. "It's really just exciting to have everybody watching."
A two-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete majoring in accounting, Ranches said singing the national anthem allowed her to bring a part of her family to the biggest stage imaginable.
"I really just have sung with my family. I come from a huge family of singers," she said. "I love it."
Maddi Ibone, Florida Atlantic
Maddi Ibone, a sophomore, pulled double duty for the Owls in their semifinal game against San Diego State. A cheerleader for Florida Atlantic, she quickly transitioned from singing the national anthem to cheering on the ninth-seeded Owls in their first Final Four appearance ever.
"I just love them both," Ibone said of singing and cheerleading.
Ibone grew up singing in church and choir. She's been involved in theater and took singing lessons as well. All of it created a natural calm, Ibone said, to handle the biggest stage of her life on Saturday.
"Just breath. I constantly tell myself that it's OK," she said. "Really it's all about your mindset. If you keep a good mindset, then you'll be able to do anything."
