WINCHESTER, Va. – Senior Amy Rapp is in her third year of giving us an inside look into the women's tennis program, and in her first blog of the spring season, Amy brings us up to speed with the start of the outdoor schedule.
We are off to a pretty good start for this year! Last week was a big moment for us since we beat Bridgewater for the first time in the last five years. It wasn't easy and we had to fight but we did it and we couldn't be happier.
With that being said, we have a difficult road ahead of us! We have been training hard at practice, at lifting, and even during matches to continue our growth as a team. Our hopes are that our hard work will take us to the ODAC Tournament for the third year in a row.
Practicing outside is drastically different than when we practice indoors at Winchester Country Club. Inside, weather is never an issue (unless it's a huge snow storm that puts the bubble down for a whole week…) but outside is a different story. Outside, even a little bit of rain can cut practice short or postpone a match. We already have had two matches in which we were on the courts right before the match was due to start using sponge rollers and towels to dry the courts enough for us to play. Fortunately, neither time did that not stop us from getting the win.
A new assistant coach for the team has made a huge difference! It is very clear that coach Martin Brown has a passion for success and tennis. He has this way of making you change your attitude (in a good way) during a match. Coach Brown is supportive and really knows his stuff. It's super helpful to have an extra set of hands at practice and matches to change things up.
We've got a really big week ahead of us but we are beyond ready to get to it and play some tennis. We are really fortunate to have a great team bond for supporting each other that will make a significant difference this year for the three seniors: Molly Barb, Caitlin Tilton and myself. A quick shout out to the new our teammates for making this a special year so far! Emma Stafford, Amanda Banocy, Audrea Wright, Kelsey Nicely, Denise Vollmer and first year player, Melodie Madison.
We play Emory and Henry today at 5 and Randolph-Macon tomorrow. Join us for the matches!
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