Captain's Log with Lindsey Howard: Outside Already!
3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Captain's Log with Lindsey Howard
FRIDAY, MARCH 27 -- Outside Already!
This past weekend we continued Big Ten Conference play with home matches against Minnesota and Iowa. Our Saturday match against Minnesota was intense. The Gophers came out aggressive and with a lot of energy and claimed the doubles point to go up 1-0. We knew going into the singles that we were going to have to come out with more energy if we wanted to win the match. We won five out of the six singles matches, making us confident going into our Sunday match against Iowa. We were in the middle of our normal pre-match warm-up on Sunday when Ronni called to bring it in. This never happens, so we were all wondering what was going on. Ronni then told us that we were playing outside. I couldn't believe it! An outdoor match in Michigan in March! In my four years here, we have never played outside that early. Once we all got over the shock of having to play outside in the cold weather, we realized that none of us brought warm clothes to play in! Some girls had to jump in their cars and run home to get some long sleeve shirts! Even though playing outside was a surprise, it in no way affected our attitude or our performance. We came out and claimed all three doubles matches and five out of the six singles matches.
I also noticed a lot of fans at the Varsity Tennis Center this weekend! I really do want to thank all of you for your support! You all bring a lot of energy and get us through some tough matches!
Outside of tennis, the girls on the team are involved in a variety of activities. Tania Mahtani, Whitney Taney, Denise Muresan, Kari Wig and Michelle Sulahian have been attending Athletes in Action, which is a non-denominational Christian organization for student-athletes. There is a variety of activities, from weekly meetings to bible studies to service projects and games. Since the girls started attending, they have had a great time getting to know other athletes that share the same interests. A typical Wednesday night weekly gathering consists of listening to some words of encouragement and then dividing up into small groups to discuss each other's struggles. I think it's great that these girls have been having fun and spending time with each other away from the tennis court and schoolwork.
This Friday, the girls are volunteering at this year's "We Are All Victors" Day. This event combines Michigan athletes and students with over 300 kids with special needs. This is a great opportunity for us to give back to the community. A couple of the girls participated last year and really enjoyed the experience!
This weekend is a BIG weekend for us! We play Wisconsin on Saturday and Northwestern (the No. 1 team in the country) on Sunday. I really encourage you all to come out to enjoy some great tennis and the free pizza that will be given to the fans on Sunday. We are also trying to have a "Maize Out" for both matches, so please wear maize. I hope to see you there and Go Blue!
Players Mentioned
