Alex Hirsch's Fourth NCAA Tennis Diary Entry
5/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- - What a weekend for re-matches... We finally played the first round of NCAA's today and took down South Carolina, 4-1. We started off the match really strong by winning a long overdue doubles point, thanks to our No. 2 and 3 doubles teams. At No. 1 doubles, Sierra and I struggled a little bit today, but we had complete confidence that our teammates would pull out their matches!
Going into singles ahead 1-0 against a solid team is an unfamiliar feeling this year, but it felt great today. Within what seemed like 20 minutes, CT (Christian Tara) was already off the court and the scoreboard read 2-0 for Wake. It turns out she wore her opponent down so quickly that the girl defaulted with stomach problems after losing the first set 6-1. Way to go CT! Subsequently, Christine won her match easily at No. 6, and following very closely, Ana defeated her opponent handily at No. 3 to clinch the match for us. Playing 1 and 2, Ashlee and I had to settle for unfinished business. Although A-Raye was well on her way to winning, I still hadn't finished my first set when Ana clinched the match. Knowing my match could have turned in to a long battle, I have to admit I was a little relieved. Thanks Ana! I am so excited to beat the Gamecocks after losing to them two years ago in the first round of the tournament! Revenge is sweet.
And tomorrow we have another re-match, this time against UNC. We lost to them 4-3 during our regular season match, but it came down to a third set of the very last match - that's as close as it gets! It's not very often that you get a second chance to play a team in the same year, so we can't wait for this opportunity tomorrow. If we all show up tomorrow and leave it all out on the court, there is no reason we can't win ourselves a trip to Palo Alto for the Sweet 16.
The match is at 3 p.m. tomorrow, and until then, we're enjoying hanging out in the hotel and eating great meals. (Last night, Chad took us to P.F. Chang's for dinner). After a brief team meeting this evening, we had team bonding in Blakely and Jenna's room , no coaches allowed! Tomorrow, we will most likely follow a similar routine as today, starting with team breakfast in the hotel followed by a brief team jog (brief being the key word), and later, lunch at the Carolina Cafe. No matter where we go, "Catch Phrase" seems to follow us. Christine is now more addicted to the game then ever, demanding we play for even a three minute car ride! After lunch, we'll head to the courts to prepare for the Tar Heels. We're ready to play because, in the words of Christine Simpson, "We're Ballers!" GO DEACS!
Players Mentioned
