Alex Hirsch's NCAA Tennis Diary #5
5/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 15, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Saturday's second round match against UNC was a heartbreaker. We lost 4-3 and it came down to the third set of the last match, again. Everyone fought their absolute hardest throughout the match, and we just came up a little short this time.
After losing the doubles point to go down 1-0, I looked up at the scoreboard during singles and it seemed as if we were going to get walked all over. Everyone was struggling in their first sets. I was able to pull out my match, and then I glanced at the scoreboard again and we were making a total comeback. Sierra won her match, and Ashlee and Ana fought to bring their matches to third sets. Ashlee had a great win against Caitlin Collins, who she lost to during the regular season, and the score was tied at 3-3. Ana left her blood and sweat on the court, but lost the third set 6-4.
As tough as it is to lose a 4-3 match to the number 8 ranked school in the country, we should also feel proud knowing we competed against the top teams all year. We had a very young team this year, with no seniors, and we lacked the experience that other teams may have. But we can hold our heads up high because next year, we will be able to capitalize on all of our opportunities. So it was a bittersweet end to a great season in that we did not reach our goal of making the Sweet 16, but we are now hungrier than ever and will come back a stronger team next year. We also very much look forward to welcoming two freshmen to the team next season!
After the match, we stopped at IHOP for dinner, since we would have been waiting another 2 years to be seated at Outback. You would have thought we had never eaten breakfast if you saw the feast we had at IHOP. From Sierra's chocolate chip pancakes to ARaye and Christine's omelets the size of Texas, we enjoyed our last team meal of the season. It felt as though we were eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, right there!
Now back at Wake, I have said my goodbyes to most of the team, and I start training today for the individual NCAA tournament. Chad, Jesse, and I leave on Sunday for Palo Alto, California. GO DEACS!