A Players' Perspective
03/14/2004 | Women's Tennis
March 14, 2004
How do the Spiders prepare to build upon last year's success? Araceli's weekly diary will provide some answers as she takes us to the weight room, the track, the dining hall, the campus, and finally - the court - with several other stops along the way.
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Week 16...
It's amazing to see all the stir that "March Madness" basketball creates everywhere. Last weekend we had our chance to become part of the basketball craze going on, and this week, we sit and wait, and are still hoping for the opportunity to get to "the big dance."
We left for Philly last Wednesday, March 3, and didn't expect to return home until after Monday's A-10 Championship game. Our trip was cut short after we suffered a tough, hard-fought semifinal game loss to Temple, the same team who ended our A-10 season last year, and beat us in overtime earlier this season.
Going into the A-10, there was excitement and nervousness in the faces of everyone on the team. We had just finished our regular season with six wins, and felt confident enough to beat anyone in conference. The thing about this time of year is that in conference tournaments, everyone starts with a record of 0-0, every single team has the same opportunity to get into the NCAA tournament, and every team realizes that everything they have worked for all year has to show in this last tournament. Everyone on our team was nervous, the freshmen a little more so than the returners, but nonetheless, we were all nervous. Before the game, Coach Boyle must have also sensed the abnormal tension in the room and she told us, "In tournament play, games are not going to be pretty, but you just have to go out there and play hard and gut it out." She was right on the money when she said that. In our first game against Rhode Island, the score was something like 3-2 with about 11 minutes to go in the first half. It wasn't all owed to the fact that there was great defense out there; part of it was simply that both teams were missing easy shots that we usually will make. I know that a lot of that had to do with our nervousness. I went in there thinking, "If we don't win this game, our season's over" and sure that was the reality of it, but it wasn't until I reminded myself that we have to take this one game at a time, that I finally settled down a little bit, and tried to have some fun out there. In the end it worked out for us, as we rallied to gain ourselves a decent 20 point lead midway through the second half. Rhode Island, however, didn't stop fighting, they pressed us and forced us into some silly turnovers, and they brought our lead into single digits, but we were able to capitalize on some key free throws towards the end to secure us the win.
Our next game against Temple didn't have as happy an ending as our previous game. It was a well played game. We both had a game under our belt, and our nerves weren't really a factor. The score was close for the majority of the game, but in the end it came down to some key plays, and we weren't on the good end of those plays. It was truly disappointing loss because it was one of those games in which everyone thinks back and says, "If only I had not turned it over, if only I had made that free throw, if only...if only..." The most upsetting thought about the loss, was facing the fact that we didn't have another opportunity to put ourselves in a better position for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. So now we sit here and wonder about everything that is going on with the NCAA committee. It is said that we're a "bubble" team, meaning we can go either way, in or out of the tournament. It's funny because no one on the team is really sure about whether we should get our hopes up or not. Sometimes I'll discuss it with one of the coaches or another player, and I leave thinking, "Wow, we're so in this tournament!" And then I sit there and think to myself, "Well...there's only a small percentage, so don't get so excited." I'm trying to keep my emotions under control, but it's tough not knowing whether we're in or out of the tournament.
And to add to all the distress that I'm feeling, the men's basketball team is not helping me out either. They face the Dayton Flyers in a tough semifinal game at the Dayton arena, a place known as one of the toughest arenas to play due to their crazed fans. Our men's team is also being talked about as a "bubble" team for the men's NCAA tournament, and so a win tonight would put them in great position for an A-10 championship or even an at-large bid. Again, unless they win their conference tournament, then they won't find out until Selection Sunday whether they get in or not, so I guess for now, we'll all just sit around and hope that the NCAA Committees feel as strongly as us that both of our teams deserve to go dancing!
Now I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my spring break on campus by watching our baseball team play against VCU, while everyone else on campus is in Florida, the Bahamas, or somewhere else near the beach.