North Carolina State University Athletics
Day One - Wednesday, May 10, 2006
5/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 11, 2006
Looking back over the year, I can say I am proud to be on the NC State women's tennis team. Since the fall began, our mindset and physical stamina has been revolving around reaching the NCAA Tournament.
As we are loading our vans and jumping into our seats, we make our way to Richmond. The team gathered, coaches and players, last Wednesday to see our names appear on the draw to face off against William & Mary on Friday, May 12 at 1 p.m.
Playing team trivia in our vans, and between the two vans traveling, we call each other up to ask questions for the other van to answer in five minutes. For example; what were the four teams in the NCAA Final Four in college basketball and what are the names of the four countries in the highest standings for the world soccer championship. To me, this game symbols our team's desire to compete and to be together.
And as we get ready to practice at the VCU tennis courts on their campus, we look down into ourselves and know all we need is a tennis court, a racquet, and an opponent and we are ready to play.
Competition for us lies in the determination to win, the strength to commit ourselves to the game, and the unity to play as a team. Most of us consider this team to be our "family" since we spend so much time together and are far away from home. As a family we have learned to share our interests and our aspirations.
Just like today while traveling I enjoy sharing my music, like Bon Jovi, with our coach who also is a fan of his. Then I spoke about my love for the guitar solo at the beginning of one of his songs. And then we passed a guitar shop. Before you knew it, both of us wanted to take our first guitar lessons and learn the skills to be just like Bon Jovi. This fantasy brought me to realize that all dreams and goals can be reached with drive. It was then that I looked around at my teammates and knew we were getting ready to see one of our 13 collective dreams and goals begin to come true.
As practice soon began, we divided the team into two smaller groups of six to create an inner team competition. This included doubles tiebreakers and singles matches on unfamiliar territory. We would have to get used to the pace of the ball and the feel of the court as we balanced the sound of our voices with the sounds of the cars commuting alongside the tennis center.
Following practice, we indulged in dinner at Panera Bread where we drank coffee and ate sandwiches and soups to relax. We filled a booth to chat about moments that we had never shared before. To think that we have spent so much time together - since the fall, even since the last fall, or even the fall before that - and we have never heard these stories before.
We listened and commented on how each of our countries we grew up in was different. How in Sweden people generally do not talk to others they do not know, and now how this teammate (Elin Stahl Johansson) has grown accustomed to the friendliness of the people around here in the States.
It was during this same dinner conversation that four women stopped to ask us who we were. When we introduced ourselves, they were pleased to see us in their hometown. When the conversation ended, they wished us good luck.
We again knew we were being awarded a great opportunity to compete in the NCAA and that we are planning to stay.
A.B.
