Simply amazing is probably the best way to communicate the feelings that went through my head last weekend. We did it. We won the Lady Bulldog Classic. It was a great feeling knowing that all the hard work that we put in is finally paying off. We drove to Laurel, MD early Saturday morning knowing what we had to do. We had to be confident bowlers and stay together as a team. We needed to prove to ourselves that we can start strong, stay strong, and end strong. We bowled well the first day of competition, holding onto first place by only a single pin. That night, we had a team meeting to discuss what happened during competition and if there was anything that needed to be addressed. We felt really good about day one and were confident about the next day. We were all exhausted and were ready for bed. It was an early night, and then we were ready for day two. We bowled bakers Sunday and came out shooting. For the 20 baker games we shot, we averaged a little under 222. We won the tournament overall as a team, and also our anchor, Maria Rodriguez, won the tournament individually.

I believe this win has a lot to do with the things that I explained in my last blog, confidence and team bonding. With some talent, luck, and these two things, a team will become unstoppable. That is what happened to UMES last weekend. We weren't going to let anyone beat us without a fight. We had a few tough matches, but we never let those get us down. We came right back firing on all cylinders, taking on the next team. We took one game at a time, and within that each pin that we needed to hit. A team needs intensity and inspiration to accomplish what they want. We had that this weekend and plan to keep it for every single match that we bowl.

We came back to campus Sunday night, and our classes started Monday for the semester. We are all currently trying to get back in the swing of things with classes, practice, work-outs, and leisure time. Since our coach was very proud of our performance this past weekend, we didn't have early morning work-outs, but rather working out when we find the time. It was a relief to know that I didn't have to be up at 5:30AM Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I'm able catch up on some much needed sleep and concentrate more on classes. It's the middle of the week, and tonight we are heading to team practice in Millsboro, DE. We are ready to work hard tonight and make sure we are ready for this weekend. We leave Friday afternoon to head up to Reading, PA for the Kutztown University Invitational.

Wish us luck and I'll update you guys sometime next week! Thanks for reading J

-Kristina

P.S. GO HAWKS!!!