Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She shared her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted April 26, 2011
UAA Championships, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis, MO, our final competition of the season, was definitely the most memorable weekend of the year. And, for some of us, it was the end of our college tennis careers.
It was also a very special weekend for the four seniors, who knew it would be the last time they would get to travel and compete as a team. However, despite this upsetting fact, the ladies of the NYU tennis team were determined to make this weekend unforgettable.
We all were extremely excited when we arrived at Coles last Thursday morning. We got a big coach bus all to ourselves, which took us to Newark Liberty International Airport. Our plane was small and the flight was slightly nauseating, but after we arrived we were all happy to be greeted by sunshine, despite the prophecy of rain. Since the weather was nice, we were able to utilize our practice time at a park near the Washington University campus. We all practiced with big smiles.
As soon as our practice was over, the skies became gray and cloudy, so we hopped into our two rented Dodge mini vans and headed to Pappy’s Smokehouse, which was featured on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. We waited on line for their famous barbeque for almost 30 minutes. When senior Lisa Mijovic reached the register, she learned that there was one rack of ribs left. We quickly ordered it, along with our individual entrees, and split it amongst all of us once we got back to the Sheraton Hotel.
We woke up early on Friday morning to enjoy a complementary breakfast provided for all of the competing teams. Since we were seeded #8, we had to play the #1 seeded Emory University, which is ranked #3 in the nation. After suffering a harsh loss to them last year in the first round, we were ready to give it our all. Unfortunately, we lost 9-0. But, competing against such good tennis players brought out the best tennis in us.
That night, we attended the annual UAA banquet, which was held in a lovely room inside a golf clubhouse near the tennis park we practiced in the day before. Everyone dressed nicely for the event. We were forced to split up into threes and sit with other teams in order to socialize. At first, we disliked the idea. However, the experience was amazing. At my table, we socialized with three girls from Washington University and exchanged many interesting facts about our lives and pursuits. The food was delicious and consisted of salad, St. Louis’ famous toasted ravioli, fettuccine alfredo, bowtie pasta, and chicken. There was also a small table for coffee and cookies. As we ate, we listened to an incredibly moving speech by the Washington University women’s volleyball coach, which, I admit, made me cry. After the speech, all of the seniors were individually announced, along with their majors, and received white roses after standing in the front of the room. The four seniors of NYU, Elizabeth Feldman, Sara Joo, Lisa Mijovic, and Elizabeth Stachtiaris stood together as sophomore Ariel Sultan and freshman Ramya Pokala took pictures.
After the banquet had finished, the hosts explained that everyone needed to evacuate immediately, since there was a tornado warning in effect. We ran across the wet parking lot to our mini vans and zoomed home. The girls gathered in one room to watch the news, which covered the progress of the tornado.
The next morning, we awoke early again to have complementary breakfast. We were a bit worried to learn that the tornado had disabled Lambert – St. Louis International Airport, from which we were scheduled to fly on Sunday morning. After driving to the competition site, assistant coach Christina Theile contacted our airline in order to find a solution while the girls competed. Our next opponent was University of Rochester, which we had already played earlier this season. Unfortunately, the match ended with similar results as before. Since they were up 5-0 after sweeping the doubles and winning two singles matches, the rest of the matches remained unfinished since we were only playing until decision.
After coming off the courts, the girls were greeted with both good news and bad news. The good news was that Coach Theile was able to secure eight tickets on a Continental flight to Newark, NJ, scheduled to leave at 1:40 pm on Sunday. The bad news was that the flight was out of Louisville International Airport in Kentucky, which is a five-hour drive from St. Louis. However, we were all still trying to make the best of the weekend, despite the losses and the consequences of the tornado.
After losing to Rochester, we had to compete for 7th and 8th place against Case Western Reserve University, a team we proudly defeated last year. We were unlucky since Elizabeth Feldman had injured her leg in the previous match. She fought hard and tried her best in doubles, but was unable to compete in singles and defaulted after a few points. Since we were only playing until decision again, once Case was up 5-1, the rest of the matches were interrupted. The one completed victory of the weekend belonged to the third doubles team of Joo and Pokala, who both played amazing tennis. Some of us shed tears for the emotional end of the season, and the end of our college tennis careers.
After the Violets confirmed their 8th place finish, we headed back to the hotel to take showers and get ready to go out for dinner. However, since the waits were over an hour, we decided to get take out from a nice Sushi Bistro. We brought our food back to the hotel, where some of us also ordered dessert. Since we knew we had to leave St. Louis at 5:00 am, we all went to bed early.
At 4:55 am, we all met in the parking garage, loaded the mini vans and drove 4.5 hours to Louisville. Most of the girls slept during a large portion of the journey, only to be awoken for two pit stops. The plane ride home was similar to the one on Thursday – nauseating on a small shaky plane. However, once we landed and boarded our huge coach bus, we were excited to return to the city. We ran into some traffic by the Holland Tunnel, but this gave us a little more time to bond before we disembarked the bus for the last time of the year.
Although we met much adversity from both the competitive tennis teams and the weather, the ladies of the team held their heads high and made the best of their weekend. For me, this was definitely the most memorable and enjoyable UAA Championship of my NYU tennis career. I think I speak for all of the seniors when I say that even though tennis was an enormous time commitment, it was the best experience of my time here at NYU and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
I love you, girls.
Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted April 17, 2011
VICTORY!!!!!!!!!
The ladies of the NYU tennis team are proud to announce their first win of the season, as we defeated Haverford College on Sunday. After having some bad luck with weather and playing difficult schools, the girls were ready to fight for their last match before UAA’s next weekend.
Unfortunately, our match on Saturday against SUNY Geneseo was cancelled due to rain since the tennis courts were outdoors. The girls were confident that the match would have been a good chance for victory. However, the ladies were ready to dominate the next day at Bogota Racquet Club in New Jersey, our home facility for the day.
Although Coach Choy was away with the men’s team at Brandeis University for their UAA’s, assistant coach Christina Theile was there to organize the courts, set up the matches, introduce the players, and give excellent coaching advice.
Senior Elizabeth Stachtiaris and sophomore Ariel Sultan won their doubles match in the #1 spot as well, as did senior Sara Joo and freshman Ramya Pokala in the #3 spot.
With a 2-1 lead after doubles, the Violets set out to finish the job in their singles matches. Although the #1, #2, and #5 singles of NYU (Elizabeth Stachtiaris, Senior Elizabeth Feldman, and Ramya Pokala, respectively) suffered tight losses, senior Lisa Mijovic, Joo and Sultan pulled out the 5-4 win.
During the drive home, the girls were extremely excited to end their dual matches with a bang. Everyone had a huge smile on her face as they clapped to celebrate.
The team looks forward to the four-day trip to UAA’s at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, this Thursday, which will sadly close the season for the ladies. However, rather than dwell on the imminent end of the season, the girls preferred to revel in their victory over Haverford College.
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted April 11, 2011
This week added to a tough season for the women's tennis team.
We were excited to play against Stevens Tech last Wednesday at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center. The NTC is the site for the U.S. Open and we were lucky to play on the same courts as some of the greatest tennis players in the world. With that extra motivation, we were even more pumped to get our first win of the season.
We got off to a great start by winning all three doubles and then getting ahead in the single matches. Everything was going well for us that day, except for the weather. Tennis can be played in a light rain before posing any difficult challenges, but once the rain continues play becomes extremely difficult. The tennis ball soaks up, which makes the ball move slower. But, the real problem with the rain is the courts themselves. When the rain is steady the courts become slippery, especially the lines, and it becomes dangerous to move on. As the drizzling became a more steady rain, play had to be stopped. Both teams found coverage around the grounds to see if the rain would give up, but as the rain continued the coaches decided to try to reschedule the match. We were all disappointed, as we could feel the win on our fingertips. But, we knew that when this match was rescheduled we would have a great chance to complete our first win.
However, as Stevens was at the end of their season, they were unable to reschedule and so the match was officially canceled. On the verge of getting our first win, this canceled match was just another example of things not going our way this season. As a team, we were all really disappointed as the completed matches did not count. Second and third doubles both had gotten their first wins of the season, but those matches did not count for anything.
With the match on Saturday against UAA-rival Rochester, we were looking to take our good playing from Wednesday's match and capitalize it to a win. However even with a few close doubles matches (and they were a lot closer than what the score shows), we were unable to get the win.
Even with this extremely tough season, we are keeping out hopes up. On Thursday both the women's and men's team got together after practice for a night of a karaoke. There were some great renditions of "I've Had the Time of My Life" and "Gold Digger". We all had a great time and I think we are all ready for NYU tennis to have a karaoke part II. As a team we have never been closer, and that can only help us as we finish up the season.
Come support the team as we go for our first win, as our last two regular-season matches are at home. We are all ready to play some great tennis and get that tough first win.
Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted April 6, 2011
The ladies of the NYU varsity tennis team looked forward to giving their all against Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA, last Sunday. Since it was the only match of the weekend, the girls were able to save all of their energy and compete fiercely for the win.
However, they needed all this extra energy to counter the challenging conditions of the match. The ladies boarded the coach bus knowing that one of the six team members would not be attending. The absence of sophomore Ariel Sultan put the Violets at a 0-2 disadvantage, since both her singles and doubles matches had to be forfeited. Also, this was the first match that was played outdoors since September. Captain Lisa Mijovic warned her teammates the day before, and everyone brought extra layers to counter the chilly weather.
Both the women’s and men’s teams shared the bus to Wilkes. Since the bus departed at 8:30 am, the ride to Pennsylvania was quiet, as many team members attempted to rest before the match. Upon arrival, the Violets were discouraged to feel the chilly 40-degree weather and the tree branches jerking sharply in the heavy wind. Despite the setbacks, both teams were determined to compete well.
The six tennis courts were divided evenly between the men and the ladies. Having only three courts meant that the match would probably last a long time. The doubles teams competed first. Senior Elizabeth Stachtiaris did not compete at the usual #1 singles position since Sultan was absent. Instead, Mijovic and fellow senior Liz Feldman moved up from their usual #2 spot, while senior Sara Joo and freshman Ramya Pokala did the same from their #3 spot.
The scores of both matches were extremely close. However, we fell short and found ourselves down 0-4. This meant that the girls had to win all five remaining singles matches in order to bring home the team victory at 5-4.
Despite this enormous pressure and harsh weather conditions, the ladies played amazing tennis. Mijovic posted the first win at 6-3, 6-3. The next victory was from Stachtiaris, who won 7-5, 6-2. Feldman played a great match, splitting sets and winning the third in a tight 6-4. Pokala and Joo were the last two matches. Unfortunately, neither was able to pull out the win, though they both competed well. Ramya split sets with her opponent before losing the third-set super tiebreaker 10-8.
Although the ladies did not defeat Wilkes, we were not completely discouraged. We knew that under normal conditions, the results could have been significantly different.
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted March 28, 2011
On Sunday, the women's tennis team hosted rival William Smith, as well as and our family and friends for our annual Family/Senior Day festivities.
For the past several years, NYU and William Smith have had some very close matches, so we were all hoping to a get our first win of the season in front of our family and friends.
The day started off with the team honoring the seniors. As one of four seniors, we were all presented with a framed gift commemorating our time on the team and flowers.
After the presentations and lineups, doubles got underway. From the get-go all three matches were very close, as the final scores indicated. The first doubles team of Liz Stachtiaris and Ariel Sultan, was able to pull out the win at 8-5. Both the second and third doubles matches went into extra games, but both of our teams lost extremely close matches. The doubles really could have gone either way, and could have caused a completely different outcome of the match itself.
The doubles, however, did set the tone for the singles matches. Liz was our lone singles winner at #1. Ariel gave a strong performance at third singles before falling in her second three-set match in two days.
Even with the loss we played some great tennis (the scores may not necessarily show it), but we just were not able to capitalize.
This week is a much quieter week. The team looks to bounce back from this grueling weekend with our lone match against Wilkes University on Sunday.
Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted March 27, 2011
After returning from a much needed Spring Break, the ladies of the NYU women’s tennis team began practicing right away, preparing their bodies and minds for the upcoming matches of this past weekend.
On Friday, the women traveled to Ewing, NJ, to face the strong contenders of The College of New Jersey. The ladies were able to watch the men finish up their matches and cheer them on, while getting mentally prepared to face their opponents. Unfortunately, the girls of NYU were defeated with a 0-9 loss.
After the long day in New Jersey, the ladies had to wake up early the next morning to play Brandeis University at the NYU home facility, the Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond. Although the girls were feeling the effects of the previous match on their bodies, they went in with confidence. Unfortunately again, the Violets did not earn a victory. The only NYU win belonged to sophomore Ariel Sultan, who won her match 12-10 in a third set super tiebreaker.
Despite the losses, all of the ladies played great tennis. They are hoping to shake off the defeats of Friday and Saturday as they compete against William Smith College on Sunday at Family Day.
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted March 7, 2011
This weekend, the men's and women's teams made the trip together to MIT. With the men playing Friday night, the women had the night to explore the Cambridge area before watching the men's match.
We all had a great dinner and went to the Flour Bakery for their famous award- winning sticky buns. Full of a delicious dinner, we headed over to the boys match to cheer them on. The men faced a tough competitor in MIT, and put up a good fight before falling 7-2.
The next morning, it was our turn to face MIT. We got off to a slow start, being swept in doubles. In the loss, Lizzy Feldman and Lisa Mijovic put up a great fight. Many of the girls fought hard in their singles matches, before falling to some very tough opponents.
Even with the 9-0 loss, we had a great time bonding together and exploring a city outside of New York. After spring break we are ready to come back from this loss well-rested and ready for our first win of the season.
Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted February 27, 2011
As the semester progresses, the members of the NYU women’s tennis team continue to bond through different experiences. On Sunday, February 20, the girls volunteered for the Special Olympics with the men’s soccer and volleyball teams. Together, the Bobcats worked to make this event special for the participating athletes. The girls wore big smiles and gave numerous hugs.
Unfortunately, we suffered a loss against the Thoroughbred of Skidmore College. Although we were defeated 9-0, everyone played and competed well. Our #2 and #3 doubles, consisting of Ramya Pokala and Sara Joo, and Lisa Mijovic and Liz Feldman, respectively, contended fiercely, losing at tight scores of 9-7. Ariel Sultan and Liz Stachtiaris suffered a harsher loss at #1 singles, 8-2.
Trying to stay positive after being swept in doubles, the Violets promptly started their singles matches. Although none of us won, we tried our best and played some great points. Liz Feldman gave a valiant effort at #2 singles before falling 6-3, 6-2.
Although the match did not result in a victory, we are now more aware of skills and tactics of our games that need improvement. It is tough losing some great players, leaving us with six girls – the bare minimum for match play. However, this challenge makes us more determined.
Though are numbers are small, we play hard and aggressive. We are improving everyday at practice. We are ready to turn this loss around in our future matches.
For our next match, we will be traveling to Cambridge, MA, to face the Beavers of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. If anyone is in the area, come out and support the Bobcats! If not, cheer us on from home!
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted February 21, 2011
All the girls were excited for our first dual match of the season against Swarthmore College. As our first overnight match, it was a great bonding experience.
After getting through the holiday traffic, we were all relieved to be able to kick back and watch some TV over dinner in captain Lisa Mijovic's room. We called it an early night so that we would be ready for the next day.
With the start of doubles, it was evident that it would be a tough match. Liz Stachtiaris and Ariel Sultan grabbed a great victory at #1 doubles. At second doubles, Lisa and Liz Feldman lost a very close match at 7-9. At third doubles, Ramya Pokala and I played tough though lost. As our first match together, we still have some things to work on, but I am excited how well we are already meshing together.
Although we were indoors, the windy weather still caused some problems. During both the doubles and the singles, the lights flickered and took a while to warm back up. In tennis, rhythm is very important and this disruption definitely affected that.
After doubles we were down 1-2, but still had a great chance to win. Both teams really showed up and there was great tennis played. Liz (Stachtiaris) and Ariel lost really tough matches. Lisa and Lizzy (Feldman) pulled out with some great wins, but it was not enough to overcome being down from doubles.
Although we lost the match, it was very close. As the season goes on we will only get better. We will use this match as a learning experience and come out of it for the better.
We are all excited for the rest of the matches this season and cannot wait to play our first home match of the season against Skidmore. We hope to see you all there!
Elizabeth Stachtiaris is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted February 10, 2011
The members of the NYU women’s varsity tennis team are all excited to start the spring season!
Although some alterations were made, the girls are adjusting strongly. The tennis team now practices at a different facility, Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond, which provides us with numerous tennis courts and more opportunities to practice.
Unfortunately, we lost some very talented players since the end of the fall season. However, we now welcome freshman Ramya Pokala. She is very talented and we all look forward to seeing her contributions to the team.
The girls have been practicing hard since the second week of school, all in preparation for our upcoming matches. Our schedule is loaded with opportunities for us to display our talent and devotion to the NYU tennis team.
We will be playing several home matches and hope to see much support from our fellow Violets and Bobcats!
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted February 8, 2011
This season looks to be a promising one for the NYU women's tennis team. We ended off last season with some great play in the NY State Tournament.
The new season, however, has also brought about some changes. Our lineup will be a bit different from last season. We lost a few players, but have six members of the team returning and a new addition in freshman Ramya Pokala.
This spring we are practicing Monday-Thursday nights at our new practice site, the Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond in the Bronx. The facilities are great, and I think they will help us prepare for the season.
We're excited for the upcoming season, especially with our seven home matches. We hope to see you all there!
Alexa Wimes is a sophomore on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted October 18, 2010
This year, Sara Joo and Lisa Mijovic decided to surprise the whole team with end-of-the-season gifts at the New York State Women’s Championship. Thank you, girls.
The Halloween-themed gifts were absolutely adorable. We all received a purple pumpkin candy bucket with a variety of treats inside, such as Starbursts, Tootsie Rolls, lollipops, gummy bears, and Rice Crispy Treats. We each also received articles detailing personality traits attributed to our own particular zodiac sign. I remember hearing Lisa joke earlier this year that she knew more about us than we did ourselves simply through her hobby of studying zodiac signs. At the time, I didn’t necessarily believe her. But, I was actually surprised by how accurate the article I received was. Also, inside our little pumpkins were purple shoe laces and NYU temporary tattoos so that when we all stepped onto the court to play, our appearance would scream NYU pride…and it definitely did.
I’m extremely proud of everyone’s performance this weekend. Lisa (#1 seed) played some beautiful tennis to make it to the finals of her singles bracket, as well as her doubles bracket with partner Elizabeth Feldman. Ariel Sultan also played some extremely tough tennis, making it through two tough matches that stretched to third-set, 10-point tiebreakers to make it to the finals of her singles bracket. Ariel also made it to the finals of her doubles draw with partner Elizabeth Stachtiaris. And, Elizabeth did a wonderful job of making it to the semifinals in her draw as well. This was an individual tournament, but to have all of the girls perform so well was very exciting for the team as a whole. Congratulations!
I’m sad to see the fall season end. It went entirely too fast, but off-season training will begin for us soon so none of us will have to go through NYU tennis withdrawal. We’ll be training extremely hard so that the type of success we achieved towards the end of this season will translate over into the spring season, as well. We’re going to come back in the spring in insanely good shape hungrier than ever for more success on the tennis court.
Go Violets!
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted October 13, 2010
Our fall season (the shorter of the two) will be wrapped up this weekend with the New York States Championship. This is the grand finale of the season, and everything in the fall culminates here. The team has worked hard all season, and we are all ready to show it this weekend.
To prepare for this, we played a lot of singles games at practice this week. We played singles games where the winner would stay on the court and the loser would rotate out. It was great preparation for this weekend, as we were all able to get a lot of game play in and individually work on what we needed to work on.
New York States is an individual-based tournament with six singles and three doubles brackets. The winner gets to take the board home as a trophy, and we all have our eyes set on taking the boards home. We hope to continue and extend the success of last year when Alexa Wimes took one board home, third doubles went to the finals and three other players reached their respective singles semifinals.
Wish us luck this weekend!
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted October 5, 2010
This week we had some of our best practices all season. We did some drills, including a new volley drill. Drills may sound boring, but our team really likes them because: 1. they help us work on specific aspects of our game and make them better; 2. they become pretty competitive and so we end up having a lot of fun doing them.
For the volley drill, a pair was on the "winning side". Both teams stood at the service line and the goal would be to move up and attack. The goal of the game was to get to the winning side. Our assistant coach, Christina Theile, would feed balls to the challenger team who had to win three points in a row to switch sides. The game really helped us on our volleys and forward movement, and had us doing some running.
As a team we were all really excited for this past weekend, as it was supposed to be our first weekend away together as a whole team since our first tournament (when only five members of our team participated at ITA’s). Liz Stachtiaris and I decided to make Muddy Buddies (aka Puppy Chow) for the trip. Muddy Buddies are Chex coated in chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar. We had all planned on playing some great tennis at New Paltz, eating dinner all together, watching “20/20” (which has become a team tradition) while eating the muddy buddies, then playing some more tennis.
Unfortunately, the weather did not have the same plans for us. Because of the storm, our only dual match of the fall was cancelled. We had all already gathered at Coles ready to leave, so we decided on eating our bagged lunches and the Muddy Buddies on the couches of Coles- it became an indoor picnic.
The next day we ended up with some beautiful weather for our "invitational" against Vassar College. We did not have a full healthy team going to Vassar, as we have been battling some injuries and illnesses. However, we had players step up to the challenge and everyone was able to get some playing time. Head coach Horace Choy was with the boys this weekend, so we were all lucky to have assistant coach Donald Person as our coach for this weekend.
The match at Vassar had a dual game setup, but was unconventional because it would not count towards the team record. We started off the day with an eight-game pro set for doubles, two out of three sets with a 10 point tie-break in the third set if needed, and another eight-game pro set of doubles before calling it a day. All in all it was a great day of tennis. We were able to get some experience under our belts, including freshman Noella Richman in her first college competition. We pulled off a couple of tough wins like Lisa Mijovic's three-set comeback win and Lizzy Feldman's three-set singles win.
After more than six hours of tennis, we were all famished and took the advice of a Vassar student to try a Mexican restaurant called Mole Mole (which was supposedly only a block away). As we walked to the restaurant we soon found out that the one block was more like a 10-block walk. But, when everyone got their food, we soon found out that the walk was well worth it.
With the positives from the Vassar match, the team is ready to buckle down and practice hard for our final tournament of the fall season, the New York State Championships.
Alexa Wimes is a sophomore on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted September 27, 2010
This weekend we traveled to Geneva, New York, for ITA regionals hosted by William & Smith College.
Geneva is a five hour-long bus ride, so the girls and I made sure that we brought tons of food and entertainment for the trip. About an hour before we were to leave, Flora (Lee) and I met up at Coles in order to go to Gristedes. We stocked up on Gatorade, power bars, and other treats for the team.
So, while we provided the food, Ariel (Sultan) and Liz Feldman provided the entertainment. I was hoping that they would bring some action films, but they both brought romantic comedy. So we ended up watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which I have to admit was a pretty good movie. Then for the rest of the ride up we all did homework. This trip was a lot calmer than what I am used to, but that was due to the fact that only five of us went to regionals. The rest of our team was greatly missed!
When we arrived at the hotel and settled into our rooms, Ariel and I snuck back down to the lobby and grabbed plates full of cookies and brownies. With our arms full with cookies we stealthily tip-toed towards the elevator to bring the treats back to the rest of the team. However, coach Horace busted us! He could only shake his head and laugh at us. So we all gathered in Liz Feldman’s room, ordered up some Chinese food, and did our usual team bonding over food.
Tennis-wise I think we’re all definitely starting to get into the swing of things. This weekend we all had some very good wins and fought very hard, but we also had some very tough losses. None of us lost because our opponents were just outright better than us. There were definitely some things we all could have done to make the outcome different. These things are minor and easily fixable. We definitely can hang with the best of them, and I think that this tournament was a good confidence builder. I think that we all came away from this weekend knowing exactly what it is we need to work on, and what we need to do to tighten up our games.
So, I’m excited for our first dual matches against New Paltz, and Vassar next weekend. We’re going to bring home a win. Go Violets!
Alexa Wimes is a sophomore on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted September 13, 2010
This past weekend, we competed in our first tournament of the season at the Swarthmore Invitational in Pennsylvania. This was the first year that NYU was invited to compete in the tournament, so we were able to play against some teams that we hadn’t previously seen.
We’ve played Swarthmore before, but Johns Hopkins and the University of Delaware were fresh faces. I can only speak for myself, but I’m sure the other girls on our team will agree with me when I say that I have never felt so sore in my life!
We were able to get in a lot of matches this weekend. Though we didn’t necessarily get the results that we wanted, we fought hard. The majority of us got to play a total of six matches this weekend, so we’re definitely on our way to shaking off the rust that accumulated over the summer. I feel like once we all get back into playing form we’re going to be a tough team to beat!
Also, this weekend was great because it gave us all a chance to fully reconnect. As per usual, we did this over food. Every night we’d all gather in Captain Lisa’s (Mijovic) room, order an assortment of food and pig out while swapping food and sharing stories.
Our team is definitely made up of comedians, because we did nothing but laugh this whole weekend. We did, however, get a little teary-eyed while watching “20/20”. And, some of us were pretty distraught when Federer lost to Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinals. Go Djokovic! Obviously I was not one of those people.
Overall, this was a great trip. I look forward to our next competition as well as to meeting the new additions to our team.
Sara Joo is a senior on the NYU women's tennis team. She will share her thoughts in this space throughout the 2010-11 season.
Posted September 8, 2010
The moment we all have been waiting for has finally arrived...the 2010-11 women's tennis season has officially begun.
Last night's practice marked the first time we have all been in the same room since the end of school, and we were all excited to catch up. Along with our 10 returners, we had three freshmen trying out for the team. The first practice has always landed on the first day of school, so it gives us a lot to talk about.
This time of year is always exciting, but also pretty nerve-wracking as there is still some uncertainty of who will actually be on the team. The fall tennis season is our shorter season, and there is not much time before our coaches have to make a decision before our first competition.
Last night marked the first time we practiced in our new practice facilities at Queens College. The indoor courts are under a domed bubble, and because of yesterday's heat we were all dripping with sweat after just the warm-up. The first practice is a great time to un-rust and get back into the groove of things. To help us do that we started with an extended warm-up which lasted for the greater part of the practice and then added some competition into the mix by playing some singles points.
All in all, our first practice was a success. We were able to catch up, meet some new faces and get ready for our first tournament this weekend. As we did not lose any member from last year's team and as many of our members who were freshmen have some experience and now know what to expect, this season looks like it will be even better than last year!
The women's team has the night off tonight because the men's team will be holding their tryouts, but we are planning to do even more catching up with our first team dinner of the season tonight.
