Conference Play is Underway
By Vivien Chen
Bryn Mawr College Women’s Tennis
Last week was a hectic one in terms of schoolwork, meetings with professors and tennis. Even though weeks like this come around, it’s important to be able to prioritize your schedule and tennis practice is always one of the most important for me, especially last week since I knew our first conference match of the season was looming ahead.
After hours of hard work and practice, we were ready to leave Saturday morning for Gettysburg. After two and half hours in the bus, we finally arrived to our destination. To our pleasant surprise, the men’s tennis team of Haverford was also at Gettysburg to play their match. This was a comforting feeling for us because we don’t have a male population at our college, so we cheer on our “bi-co cousins” at Haverford College; the Haverford tennis team also made a nice gesture and cheered us on, as well.
Unfortunately, we lost to Gettysburg (7-2). This was a huge disappointment for us – we put a lot of effort in our practices and even had an advantage by training in Florida for a week. We definitely had matched skill levels, but in the end our nerves got the better of us and Gettysburg was able to see through that and clutch the match.
This match was an eye-opener for us. Even though we know we have the right skills, we lacked the amount of confidence we needed against Gettysburg. We knew we could pull a win, but our attitudes on and off the court had not shown that. We learned a great lesson in that match - it is important to believe in your team and in yourself, but it is more important to show that belief in your attitude on and off the court. This is something we will definitely work on for the following matches.
Spring Break in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
By Taryn Abbassian
Dickinson College Women’s Lacrosse
It’s Sunday March 20th, which much to my dismay means that Spring Break 2011 in Carlisle has reached its conclusion. I’ve spent the day holding on to my last bits of free time before its back to the grind of classes, papers, and tests. I slept in and then went over to what has felt like my second home this week, Miseno’s. For those of you who may not be familiar, Miseno’s is a Carlisle staple for pizza, pasta and anything else of that nature, and it also was the main source of sustenance for Dickinson Women’s Lacrosse for the past week.
Truth be told, I felt like quite the VIP whenever I went in there. Before break started, my team hand the opportunity to put in individual orders for a handful of meals. When the time came to eat, all we had to do was show up, give them our names, and they would instantly provide us with our personalized meal packaged neatly in a to-go bag with each of our names on it. I thought for sure I’d be on Miseno’s overload by the end of the week, but due to my diverse meal selection, the last was as good as the first.
After a wonderful satisfying meal, a few of my teammates and I went into town to celebrate my favorite holiday: Free Rita’s Ice Day. I’m not sure how this holiday is celebrated in other regions, but in Carlisle it’s quite the extravaganza. There were balloons, tents, decorations, and even life-sized Rita’s mascots. As senior Maggie Peeke put it, “It looks like the President is in town or something.” Needless to say, we very much enjoyed these cool and complimentary treats on such a sunny, Carlisle day; however when we were finished, it was off to put the “student” back in student-athlete.
Today has been the typical Sunday for me in that I’ve been procrastinating my work most of the day. However, since I’m technically still on spring break until tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., I feel that this is acceptable. This blog has also been a fantastic addition to my stalling routine as it is much more fun for me to write about lacrosse and my own life than to write about something for class.
Like I mentioned before, our team didn’t leave campus for break, but I think I speak for a lot of the team when I say we had a fantastic time in and around Carlisle this week. Monday, we had early practice so that we could have the rest of the day for some team activities. We caravanned to the nearby Coliseum for a day of bowling, arcade games and prizes. Despite some minor reservations from teammates, I think everyone had a fantastic time bowling; even though our coaches were better than any of us.
Some other highlights of the week included the “breakfast for dinner” team potluck we had before our St. Mary’s game and big team win against conference opponent Bryn Mawr. The bus ride home also marked one of my favorite parts of the year, IPOD KARAOKE. Each participant picks out a song, turns their music on full blast, and gives their best rendition to the entire bus.
Some of the seniors started us off with the same, classic songs they’ve sang the past four years, and then it was on to the freshmen who were absolutely hilarious. Some of the best included Carsen’s version of “Remix to Ignition,” Jess’s adaptation of “Party in the U.S.A” and Coach Miller’s performance of “Proud Mary.”
So, after a great win and a very entertaining ride home, we all returned to Carlisle in very high spirits. This week I can look forward to my mom and twin sister’s visit this weekend, and our second conference game this Saturday.
As I mentioned before, we have our next conference game this Saturday against Ursinus, and with no other games until then we have all week to prepare. We’re all looking forward to working hard and having this week to take a step back and refocus on what we need to do to be successful for this leg of our season.
Until next time, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes: "The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in war." -George S. Patton
Above: Dickinson women's lacrosse team holds a surprise baby shower for Coach HattonGoodbye Myrtle Beach, Hello Reality
By Morgan Koopman
McDaniel College Women’s Golf
Hello again! After a spectacular spring break in sunny, warm Myrtle Beach, it is back to reality at McDaniel College. This week is by far one of the most depressing weeks of the semester. If driving back eight hours from South Carolina to Maryland on St. Patrick ’s Day was not bad enough, classes have now resumed and will continue until mid-May when school ends for the summer.
The week in which everyone returns from their mini-vacation is always the worst. Of course, every one comes back as tan as a member from the Jersey Shore, but all the fun and games subside and school work takes over. Thankfully, this week I will not have that much work, as we slowly ease back into things in my classes. However, I know that these remaining few months will prove to be very exhausting in no time, where I will have to balance my work and athletic schedule.
Another thing that makes the return from spring break quite depressing is getting all the tests back that we took before we left. Many people, including myself, hate receiving grades. Receiving those midterm grades as soon as we return only puts a bigger damper on the already miserable week.
On a brighter note, the women’s golf team will compete in our first real tournament of the spring this weekend. The McDaniel Spring Invitational is a two-day tournament that will be held at The Bridges Golf Club in Abbottstown, Pa. Hopefully the Maryland weather will cooperate throughout the week and allow us to practice outside in semi-decent temperatures. It will be a very tough transition from playing in the flawless Myrtle Beach weather, but I think that we can handle it.
Without a doubt, our trip to Myrtle Beach was something very advantageous. It was great for many reasons. Our team chemistry definitely improved throughout the week due to the many hours spent together. Our schedule every day was very similar. We would wake up around 8:30 a.m., cook breakfast and pack lunches, get dressed and be in the van to go practice around 9:30 a.m.
After practicing at the range, we headed over to the course to play eighteen holes. After our round every day, we would then go practice a little more on the range until about 5:00 p.m. After a hard days work, we would return home and shower, then off we went again to eat.
I believe that our team will be better prepared for our tournament this weekend because of how much we practiced over break. The practice was definitely needed because the weather in Maryland has prevented our team from getting in good practices. Hopefully we take advantage of how much we practiced and apply it to our rounds this weekend. I am very much looking forward to officially beginning our season this weekend. Until next week…
Above: McDaniel women's golf team takes a moment for a team photo during their spring break training in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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