Hi everyone and thanks for visiting my blog. First off, a little bit about me. I'm a Junior at Williams College majoring in chemistry and economics. I've been a member of the tennis team since freshman year and love the competition and camaraderie the team provides. Over the next few months I'll do my best to give you a look into the life of Williams Tennis.
Though former captains and key players Dan Greenberg and Gary Simonette graduated, the team was privileged to welcome freshmen Will Petrie, Dicken Chaplin, and Kevin Shallcross. Our spring season officially kicked off a week ago, though matches don't start until our spring break trip. For the next few weeks we'll be playing in our field house, which for those of you not familiar with Williams facilities, is sometimes easier said than done. It certainly prepares us for challenging conditions and tests our mental fortitude not to break rackets when we get the 'occasional' bad bounce. We are extremely fortunate this year to not only go to our usual break destination, Los Angeles, but also to Georgia. We'll have the opportunity to play several top 10 teams, visit some alumni, and enjoy the sun and warmth.
Since I don't have any match results to provide yet, I thought I'd share a bit about my month in Australia. January at Williams usually consists of taking a Winter Study, a one month class, ranging in subjects from boxing to the history of surfing, or an independent study. I was privileged to travel with fellow tennis team members Ben Kelley and Nick Lebedoff for an independent study at the University of Sydney. Ben and Nick conducted studies of a small Marsupial called the Dunnart while I was helping out in a prostate cancer lab. We also had the opportunity to play a bunch of tennis and explore the many beaches of Sydney. The three weeks in Sydney were amazing, less the fact that our dorms were not air conditioned and the Australian summer is not mild.
For the last week of January, we flew to Melbourne for the Australian Open. The one week we chose to go happened to be the hottest week there in 100 years, and we were quick to max out and enjoy our hotel air conditioning. The players competed through 120 degree court temperatures, and it quickly got to some including Novak Djokovic. With the exception of Djokovic (who we previously were not huge fans of) the players inspired us to get back and start training for our season. The highlight of our week was attending the quarterfinal night match between Rafael Nadal and Giles Simon. We took advantage of our seats right behind Nadal by bringing some posters, and our subsequent TV/camera time was more than we ever could have imagined. (From the left: Ben, Me, and Nick)
That's all for this week. I look forward to providing some previews and updates on our training in the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy!
Jeremy
Though former captains and key players Dan Greenberg and Gary Simonette graduated, the team was privileged to welcome freshmen Will Petrie, Dicken Chaplin, and Kevin Shallcross. Our spring season officially kicked off a week ago, though matches don't start until our spring break trip. For the next few weeks we'll be playing in our field house, which for those of you not familiar with Williams facilities, is sometimes easier said than done. It certainly prepares us for challenging conditions and tests our mental fortitude not to break rackets when we get the 'occasional' bad bounce. We are extremely fortunate this year to not only go to our usual break destination, Los Angeles, but also to Georgia. We'll have the opportunity to play several top 10 teams, visit some alumni, and enjoy the sun and warmth.
Since I don't have any match results to provide yet, I thought I'd share a bit about my month in Australia. January at Williams usually consists of taking a Winter Study, a one month class, ranging in subjects from boxing to the history of surfing, or an independent study. I was privileged to travel with fellow tennis team members Ben Kelley and Nick Lebedoff for an independent study at the University of Sydney. Ben and Nick conducted studies of a small Marsupial called the Dunnart while I was helping out in a prostate cancer lab. We also had the opportunity to play a bunch of tennis and explore the many beaches of Sydney. The three weeks in Sydney were amazing, less the fact that our dorms were not air conditioned and the Australian summer is not mild.
For the last week of January, we flew to Melbourne for the Australian Open. The one week we chose to go happened to be the hottest week there in 100 years, and we were quick to max out and enjoy our hotel air conditioning. The players competed through 120 degree court temperatures, and it quickly got to some including Novak Djokovic. With the exception of Djokovic (who we previously were not huge fans of) the players inspired us to get back and start training for our season. The highlight of our week was attending the quarterfinal night match between Rafael Nadal and Giles Simon. We took advantage of our seats right behind Nadal by bringing some posters, and our subsequent TV/camera time was more than we ever could have imagined. (From the left: Ben, Me, and Nick)
That's all for this week. I look forward to providing some previews and updates on our training in the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy!
Jeremy
