Alex Hirsch's Second NCAA Diary Entry
5/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 6, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM - We had our first practice today since exams finished last week, and it's starting to sink in that summer is finally here and I don't have to study anymore! It feels so great to be out on the tennis court (with such beautiful weather) with no pressure coming from the classroom. As our assistant coach, Jesse, likes to say, "It's a great day for ball!" We started the week off great with a solid, focused, 2-hour practice, playing lots of points and competing hard - everyone's eyes are set on Friday, which is game-day against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Practices are only going to get more intense as we get closer to Friday. Starting tomorrow, we've got Big Dave (Dave Bass), our strength and conditioning coach, coming out to run us into the ground at the end of practice. We have really worked hard as a team in the weight room and on the track this year, but that doesn't mean we haven't also had our share of fun in the gym! From ARaye (Ashlee Davis) dropping the 45-pound bar on her own foot...to being yelled at for, once again, breaking out into random dance parties in the middle of a routine...to Chad (coach) almost blowing the gym's speakers by blasting the Johnny Cash CD at 7 in the morning...to having serious issues, team-wide, with the combination of crunches and flatulence...we have definitely had some good times!
That being said, we're all ready to practice hard the rest of the week. We leave on Wednesday for Chapel Hill, and I can't wait to face South Carolina on Friday. For some of us (Ashlee, Blakely, and me), this is a chance for revenge after losing to the Gamecocks freshmen year in the first round of the tournament. But we're a different team now, ready to take advantage of this weekend's opportunities, and ready, as our coaches like to say, to "leave it all out on the court." GO DEACS!
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