"Its 11:30 on a Thursday night and you're at tennis practice in the cage! Williams is in bed right now, so let's get moving!" Tara, our ever-energetic and motivational captain yelled across the courts. Instantly the energy level, which had been waning as the Cinderella-hour slowly approached, surged anew. The mention of Williams brought back memories of our painful 6-3 loss in the fall, while the reminder that it was almost midnight and five of us were indeed still practicing on Amherst's three rubberized indoor tennis courts, engulfed by dead air and our own sweat, within the part of the gym lovingly referred to as "the cage", made the whole moment that much more ridiculous, but that much more hardcore. I shuffled faster around the three cones as I waited for my turn to hit and dispelled all thoughts of fatigue or the five-page religion paper due at 4pm tomorrow from my mind; now was time for tennis.

            As the spring tennis season officially began on February 15^th, Amherst, Massachusetts appeared the archetypal wintry New England town, just as it likely will for at least the next month. As necessitated by this never-ending onslaught of snow, for the first month or two of the spring season the spring sports teams at Amherst share this aforementioned, majestic structure known as "the cage". In the final weeks leading up to the 15^th, spring athletes at Amherst wait with baited breath for the release of the cage-schedule which will dictate much of their academic, social, and sleep schedules until the spring has actually arrived. This year, the two hour slots rotate weekly (in an effort for consistency and fairness among the many teams vying for practice in the cage), and for the first week of the season the tennis team was given time from 10pm to midnight every weeknight. Talk about starting the season off with a jolt.

            Lucky for us, our coach, Jackie, has been flexible enough to hit and drill with us during the mornings and afternoon (when the cage is reserved solely for tennis) as our class schedule allows. Carrying tennis bags and racquets to class while wearing our sweaty tee-shirts and sweatpants and trying in vain (at least in my case) to mask our post-practice odor has become standard once again and a signal that spring tennis has officially started. As our practice times become steadily earlier and more humane (at least until the hellish 7am-9am slot the week before spring break) the team will regain its focus, vigor, and drive. Our first match won't take place until March 15^th against Cornell during our spring break trip to California, but with each official practice the team's hunger for competition and reestablishing itself as a tennis-force grows palpably stronger.

            Now its 12:10 am - officially Friday morning. The five of us have finished picking up balls, rolling up the nets, and putting away the net posts and are gathering up our things before heading back to our dorms or the library. I throw my tennis bag over my shoulder and yell "see you in ten hours, Jackie", and recommence thinking about the paper I have yet to write.