Hey there tennis fans!
We are just
a week away from Spring Break. We can do it! It's hard to believe that we are
nearly halfway done with the semester. It has been midterm season here on
campus which has given students the excuse to walk around like zombies from
class to class. When it's time for tennis, however, we have to block out that
stress that is hitting us like a ton of bricks. At times, it is super
difficult, but with such a supporting squad that we surround ourselves with, I
think we do a great job of keeping our minds off of the cruel papers and evil
exams with our jokes, oh and of course Munchie, our pet mascot.
Exercise in
general is such an amazing stress reliever especially in times like these, and
we are so lucky that tennis is a part of our everyday lives. It feels so good
to get through a tough academic day and escape to the courts where we can just
forget about our studies for a while to grind out our strokes. Our daily dose
of tennis helps us carry on the rest of our day refreshed and of course, fit. We
try to maximize every minute that we're on the court because we know our
homework will come soon enough. It's part of the trade-off of being a student
athlete. We get to play the sport but we gotta put in our studies too.
A lot of my friends who are not on
athletic teams at LMU envy that we are guaranteed at least two hours of
physical activity a day. They wish they can make trips to the gym everyday, but
it's difficult to fit it in their schedules sometimes because they are involved
with a number of things. I admire that my fellow students keep themselves busy
and are so engaged with the LMU community and all the opportunities that it has
to offer.
We were on
the road this past weekend against SDSU. Our No. 2 player, Tory and No. 4
player, Miya were overcoming injuries this past week so they weren't able to
compete in our match so we made a few adjustments in our line-up. Everyone who
was playing came out ready to compete and we faced some tough battles. Clau and
April had an amazing 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles. Their intensity was high
throughout the whole match; it was so great to watch their chemistry work so
well together. Kristine was happy with her win at No. 4. singles. She claims,
"I stuck with my patters and didn't get impatient." April almost walked away
with a win at the 1 spot and had unbelievable points while keeping that
'aggressive April mantra.'
In our team meeting following the
match, Coach Jamie advised us the importance of discipline and that we need to
implement it a little more not just for tennis, but it's all the factors that
contribute to our performance on the court such as getting our proper warm up
series in (band work, stretching, dynamic warm up) and drinking the appropriate
amount of fluids and staying fueled so we never lose our energy on the court.
Then we have to make sure we are drinking the U-Can shake Jamie wants us to
take, get ice wrapped if necessary and then get our foam roll on to flush out
those tight muscles. There is so much that we have to incorporate besides
playing a match, but I have learned how crucial it is to our actual performance
on the court. All of these factors are supposed to prevent us from fatigue
during our demanding in-season schedule.
This Thursday, we play Nevada-Reno
at home and we would love to see you out there on the courts at 1:30!
Until next time!
Logan
