Meghan King and Gwen Svekis talk all the time. They talk about everything. Well, almost everything.
King and Svekis were high school teammates. Together, they were among the best pitcher-catcher duos in the nation. They won consecutive state softball championships at South Florida power Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas.
For the first time in years, old friends will become opponents. King, a redshirt sophomore, pitches for Florida State. Svekis, a junior, is a catcher at Oregon. They'll face each other when No. 2 FSU (48-3-1) plays No. 5 Oregon (41-6) for a three-game series this weekend in Eugene, Ore.
A battle between two of college softball's premier programs isn't their primary focal point, however. The focus is mainly on Holly Svekis. She's basically King's second mother and is currently fighting through Stage 3 breast cancer.
She's not doing it alone. A number of college softball teams have reached out to Holly Svekis, including King and the Seminoles. King, along with her teammates and FSU's coaching staff, wrote notes of encouragement and sent them to Holly's home in a show of solidarity.
"She's a freaking fighter. It's awesome. It's so funny because she will never be negative about it at all," King said. "You'll never see her fall down. That's the best part. You see this inspiration in all cancer patients through that, and their inspiration is absolutely unbelievable.
"I was trying to keep it as light as possible for Gwen. It's unbelievably hard not to see Holly."
Holly Svekis said she had a check-up with her doctor in January and was diagnosed a month later.
She and her husband, Steve, still put their children first. They drove to Gainesville to tell their oldest daughter, Jackie, who's in graduate school. They then reached out to Oregon coach Mike White as the Ducks were in Arizona for the preseason.
"I called the coaches and told them I had some bad news," Holly said. "But I did not want to disrupt the team."
The parents and White coordinated a way to tell Gwen about the diagnosis. Gwen, who was described by her mother as a private person, did not tell her teammates for about a month.
Seminoles softball coach Lonni Alameda knows the Svekis family extremely well. Alameda and her staff were among the first schools to recruit Gwen, who was named the Sun Sentinel's Class 8A-7A-6A Player of the Year as a junior.
Alameda said King, who was the Florida Gatorade Softball Player of the Year as a senior, came to her with the news of Holly's cancer. Soon, it led to the Seminoles writing the notes, which Holly would come to treasure.
"Any time you can put a smile on someone's face when they're going through all of that, it's a no-brainer," Alameda said. "What is a little card that is going to bring a smile to someone? We knew we were going to be playing Oregon and we were going to see them, and we would get to follow up with a big hug for her, too."
Holly said she was at home when she received a package that read "FSU Softball" on the outside. She opened the box and found several notes written on FSU stationery. Holly recognized names like Alameda, King and sophomore infielder Carsyn Gordon, who played high school softball in South Florida.
Then she saw cards from every single player on the roster. Each contained its own message.
Holly and Steve recalled how one card featured spiritual statements while another read, "(Expletive) cancer." There were also a few notes referring to her as "Hols," which is her childhood nickname.
"We got these letters, and they were not half-assed," Holly said. "They were really thoughtful and individualized. It was extremely special, and it really choked me up when you start reading along with them."
Steve said he started crying while watching his wife cry over the notes.
"It was an arresting moment," Steve said. "It took our breath away."
Steve and Holly are, as King described, "The" most well-known softball parents in South Florida. It's common to see one or both of them at high school games in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Shortly after Holly was diagnosed with cancer, the couple drove from their home in Davie to watch the Seminoles play Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers.
"I was in complete tears when I saw her because that was my first time seeing her after she was diagnosed," King said. "She cares so much about college softball. She loves it. She lives through it."
Holly, who is between chemotherapy treatments, said she initially was under doctor's orders to not leave the area. She and Steve had to cancel quite a few flights, but they did receive a travel window to attend their daughter’s games against Oregon State and FSU on consecutive weekends.
Last Saturday, Oregon held its Strike Out Cancer game. Before it started, Holly threw the ceremonial first pitch to her daughter Gwen.
Holly's cancer fight has become a movement within the Ducks' program. Players wear pink bracelets that read, "Inconvenient Journey." It's the motto Holly has adopted while fighting cancer.
“A fan gave me a Catholic cross, people have come up and given me hugs," Holly said. "The announcer at Oregon shaved her head and said she was raising money for children’s cancer in honor of me. All those types of things make you realize the softball community is so small, and we’re all on the same team when it comes to humanity and goodwill.”
The relationship between King and the Svekis family goes back to when the girls were in seventh grade and became workout and practice partners. They’ve become so close that both Steve and Holly said if Oregon isn’t playing, they'll cheer for FSU above any other team.
"I've been looking forward to the FSU series all year," Holly said. "It's going to be fun, and it's going to be fun to see them. [King and Svekis] have not played against each other since they were 12."
These days, even during a busy season, the longtime friends speak daily. They were actually on the phone Thursday before the Seminoles caught their team flight, making dinner plans for this weekend.
King also playfully asked Svekis if she had any holes in her swing.
Yeah, about that.
Svekis is batting .309 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. She's also started 45 of the Ducks' 47 games this season.
King, meanwhile, is 24-1 with a 1.38 earned-run average.
This weekend in Eugene, the friends will square off against each other once again. King in the pitcher's circle; Svekis in the batter's box.
Just like the old days.
"I'm taking it one game at a time because I have absolutely no idea what pitches she can and can't hit," King said. "I told her, 'What are you struggling with now?' She said to me, 'I'm not going to tell you!'"
The FSU-Oregon series will begin with a doubleheader Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. The series finale is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. All three games will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
------------------------
Talk about this story with other FSU fans on The Tribal Council
