In college tennis, spring break usually means a trip to
a warm climate for a week of training, team bonding, and competition.
Last year, our team traveled to Malibu, California. We practiced hard,
spent time at the beach, played Pepperdine, and finished up our trip
with some site seeing in San Francisco. However, because of our busy
schedule with Big Ten matches and the NCAA championships this season,
the coaching staff gave us four days (March 21-24) to go home, see our
families, and ready ourselves for the challenges ahead. Waylon came
home with me to St. Louis. We completely crashed and spent most of the
next few days in bed. We returned to Champaign rejuvenated on Tuesday,
March 24.
For the next week we trained extremely hard. Blustery conditions in Champaign required intense concentration and patience. Although frustrating, competing in such conditions definitely made us mentally stronger. We decided that the best way to prepare for our final cluster of matches would be to compete in matches against each other. On Wednesday and Thursday our team battled in windy conditions in an attempt to simulate a dual match. The coaching staff hoped that in creating a dual match atmosphere, our squad would be more prepared. At night we encountered challenging conditioning workouts. Every man on the team improved drastically in running times and strength.
On Saturday morning we traveled to Notre Dame. Our confrontation with the Irish on March 29 ushered in the final portion of the season. For whatever reason, our intensity in practice on Saturday was not up to par. This definitely cost us in the match the following day. We came out flat in doubles, giving away the doubles point. Singles was more hard-fought, but the Fighting Irish took advantage of the slow start, claiming a 4-3 victory. We were quite upset with this outcome, and looked forward to traveling to Indiana for a match on Tuesday.
Practice at Indiana was much more intense. Our team came together in an effort to rebound and end the road trip on a good note. We practiced twice on Monday and prepared our minds for what was sure to be a tough match. Rain forced the match inside just after the doubles matches got under way. A change in surface and playing conditions can be extremely difficult to deal with. Indiana's indoor courts were quite quick compared to slow outdoor play. Nevertheless, we remained focused and swept the doubles. We then claimed five out of six singles to win the match 6-1. We were proud of this effort as Indiana is a strong team. It was an encouraging win for us, and hopefully our team is able to continue the momentum. We will travel to Iowa for a match this Friday, and then play Minnesota away on Sunday. Hopefully we can grab two victories and keep an undefeated Big Ten record. There is certainly a lot to play for down this final stretch.
Until next time,
Abe
For the next week we trained extremely hard. Blustery conditions in Champaign required intense concentration and patience. Although frustrating, competing in such conditions definitely made us mentally stronger. We decided that the best way to prepare for our final cluster of matches would be to compete in matches against each other. On Wednesday and Thursday our team battled in windy conditions in an attempt to simulate a dual match. The coaching staff hoped that in creating a dual match atmosphere, our squad would be more prepared. At night we encountered challenging conditioning workouts. Every man on the team improved drastically in running times and strength.
On Saturday morning we traveled to Notre Dame. Our confrontation with the Irish on March 29 ushered in the final portion of the season. For whatever reason, our intensity in practice on Saturday was not up to par. This definitely cost us in the match the following day. We came out flat in doubles, giving away the doubles point. Singles was more hard-fought, but the Fighting Irish took advantage of the slow start, claiming a 4-3 victory. We were quite upset with this outcome, and looked forward to traveling to Indiana for a match on Tuesday.
Practice at Indiana was much more intense. Our team came together in an effort to rebound and end the road trip on a good note. We practiced twice on Monday and prepared our minds for what was sure to be a tough match. Rain forced the match inside just after the doubles matches got under way. A change in surface and playing conditions can be extremely difficult to deal with. Indiana's indoor courts were quite quick compared to slow outdoor play. Nevertheless, we remained focused and swept the doubles. We then claimed five out of six singles to win the match 6-1. We were proud of this effort as Indiana is a strong team. It was an encouraging win for us, and hopefully our team is able to continue the momentum. We will travel to Iowa for a match this Friday, and then play Minnesota away on Sunday. Hopefully we can grab two victories and keep an undefeated Big Ten record. There is certainly a lot to play for down this final stretch.
Until next time,
Abe
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