That's How We Roll - Tulane Women's Tennis
Oct 2, 2008 | Women's Tennis
Oct. 2, 2008
My first college tennis tournament couldn't have been more exciting. From playing my first college doubles match with my new partner, Lindsay (Dvorak), to getting to the finals of my flight in singles. I should also mention our four-hour car ride to the tournament, which was quite enjoyable and relaxing- that is until a certain someone began to snore louder than music playing on the radio. The University of Alabama had a beautiful tennis facility, with a college tennis atmosphere all around; music playing during warm-ups and all the different colors of the team uniforms spread out across the tennis courts. The food they provided proved to be delicious, as I probably ate more pizza than I should have, but at the end of the day, I burned it all off during my matches. Our trip to Alabama was very memorable; one that I'm sure will never be forgotten.
The first night we arrived at Alabama, we immediately drove to the tennis courts, where we practiced and played for about an hour. When we were finished, Coach Sisk had a coaches' meeting to attend so she offered us the keys to the car, where we waited until she was done. When the meeting was over, Coach headed to the car. As expected, she asked for the keys....You guessed it! We lied and said we didn't know where they were- explaining that we had temporarily "misplaced" them. Coach seemed a bit worried, somewhat tongue-tied, which in turn caused Sharon and Jessica to start laughing. So I handed over the keys. Then, Coach said, "Girls...the car won't start. The battery is dead! I forgot to tell ya'll not to leave the doors open!! Did you leave the doors open!?" Of course, we had...and we all felt terribly guilty. But we eventually picked up on the joke after she started the car. However, she did a great job at convincing us otherwise.
Eating dinner at the Olive Garden was something we all agreed on. On the third night we ate at the Outback, which I might add was an interesting dinner, considering Coach treated us to cheese fries, since she was proud of our progress and results. Ironically, she'd never seen cheese fries before from the Outback and I'd have to say her facial expression to that was one of the highlights of the trip. It was a must to order water every night at dinner. However, that didn't stop Lindsay from trying to sneak a sweet tea at one of the dinners.
We were already a close team, but going to this tournament together only made us closer. Unfortunately, four of our girls couldn't go on the trip. Although we weren't all together, we still acted like a team apart; staying in touch via phone conversations and text messaging. This all made us wish the others were there with us too.
Consisting of a team with all freshmen is almost unheard of today. In fact, we're the youngest team in the nation, but I wouldn't have it any other way. We have the talent, the work ethic, the coach and the determination to win. When combined with our team chemistry- that's tough, because team chemistry is what brings everything together. It's the most important piece of the puzzle. We gained a lot of experience under our belts in Alabama and improved our games drastically. However, I think one of the most important aspects of the trip is that we all bonded. We still have a mark to make and a story to be written...and we've only just begun. This is the start of the rebuilding of the Tulane Women's Tennis Team. I'm proud to be wearing green, as well as to have a great group of teammates, and I'm proud to have a coach like Coach Sisk. "That's how we roll....ROLL WAVE!"See you on the course!
We'll see you soon!
Caroline
