University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL DIARIES
April 16, 2003 | Women's Tennis
April 9, 2003
Today was our first day of practice after two days of rest. Mike began by reminding us to get a place to stay after the dorms close and to take care of our academics. He said we should start studying for our finals now because the days will get very busy once the SEC Tournament starts.
We hit inside because it was raining and cold outside. We began by playing two baseline games to 21, which allowed us to get into a rhythm and play points. Then, we split up onto two courts and did fed-ball points. It was very competitive and fast-paced. Afterwards, we all went on one court and Mike fed quick-volley doubles points and that was really intense. We worked on returns and serving and then we went to conditioning. Overall, I felt practice was very beneficial, and its what we need to do to get ready for Georgia this Saturday.
April 10, 2003
This week has gone pretty quick and Thursday has already come. Before practice today, Mike gave us strategies to work on according to who we will probably play on Saturday against Georgia. This match on Saturday could determine whether we are seeded second or fifth in the SEC Tournament. If we are seeded No. 2, we get to play on Friday rather than Thursday and will have an easier draw. Mike believes we will have a real competitive match with Georgia, and we all need to fight really hard.
We hit inside again because it was raining. Hopefully it will stop tomorrow. Everyone warmed up with their doubles partner, so I was hitting with senior Crystal Cleveland. Then, we did specific drilling depending on our opponents' weakness. We played some doubles games to remind ourselves of just how important the doubles point will be this weekend. If we win the doubles point it will be much less pressure to win three singles instead of four. It is also a great confidence boost. Crystal and senior Vilmarie Castellvi had to leave at 5:30 because they had a senior dinner at the football stadium. At the end of practice I took a basket to work on my serve. All in all, we had a good day of practice and we should be ready for Georgia.
April 11, 2003
Well, it's Friday. Supposedly, it's the best day of the week, but for me, it was not so good. Around midday, I wasn't feeling so well and by practice, I felt so nauseous I wasn't able to do anything. It was pretty crummy feeling like that, and I didn't like that I couldn't get another day of practice in before tomorrow. But, I definitely think it was smarter to rest today and hopefully feel 100 percent for tomorrow.
It finally stopped raining so the team practiced outside today. We will probably play Georgia outside tomorrow. I asked freshman Melissa Schaub how practice went and she said it was nice and not too tiring. They played some singles and doubles games after warm-up and got acclimated to playing outside again. For conditioning assistant strength and conditioning coach Alissa Goldman came to the courts and we had a long stretch. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last regular season match. The season has gone incredibly quick. I am sure we will all focus and try our hardest and hopefully end the season with a win over the 'Dogs!
April 12, 2003
We beat Georgia today! Not only did we win, we didn't lose a match-7-0 Tennessee! We began by having a great warm-up at 10:45 for our noontime match. We were all very pumped and focused from the start. I was feeling better today, but was still a little low on energy. All three doubles matches won! Crystal and I are now undefeated in the SEC, which is pretty exciting for us! It was especially nice since this was her last regular season match and I had a direct part in making it more enjoyable for her. Winning all three doubles matches gave us a lot of confidence and momentum. Vilmarie and Crystal both beat their opponents pretty easily and I was so happy for them. The rest of us also played really well too, helping bring us the 7-0 win. The weather was beautiful and the fan support was great, so it made for a great day. Afterwards, Mike and Sonia took us all out to the Tennessee Grill. It was very yummy and a nice place to celebrate. Now that we all have a lot of confidence in our team, hopefully we can continue to play well and pull together throughout the SEC Tournament next week.
