Winning the CAA Round Robin......

The Lady Netters started the week off strong with a 5-2 victory against UNC Greensboro. We always have nail bitters with UNCG so this was a good W for the hawks. A mandatory ice bath and some serious laundry were next on the to do list for the netters.
Wednesday morning, Riiiiileeeeey took her test and we had a light practice before getting on the road for our 7 hour-long journey to Maryland. The van was packed to the top with blue adidas bags, tennis bags, electrical stimulation units that were unused and taking up lots of room, and backpacks full of homework. Oh yeah, don’t forget the 7 of us, Coach Garrity, John Ware, and our athletic trainer, Margery. Chelsea has a tendency to get carsick when John is in the driver seat so she came prepared with her Dramamine and within 10 minutes Chelsea was passed out. C-Lee and I got some great pictures to document it! Chels was the only smart one in the van because about two hours into the trip everyone felt a little queasy. According to John it was because the van alignment was off. Or maybe it was because it was too windy outside. John asked Coach why she doesn’t use cruise control and it’s because she feels it’s too risky. You never know when you’re going to have stop short. Stopping short is not a concern of Collins’. She sits Indian style when she has cruise control on. WATCH OUT when you’re driving on the highway around her. By this time we have stopped for someone to use the bathroom at least 2 times. It’s always C-Lee yelling out that Chelsea or Hartley needs to use the bathroom, when really she is the one that can’t hold it anymore. Around 8 o’clock we started to look for a place to stop and eat dinner. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays and cleaned out their crouton supply. We got back in the van and headed for Hotel DeGraffenreid. The van had gotten a little stagnant, according to Margery, and we needed a little AC. We also managed to keep John well informed when his GPS was telling him to exit NOW! Before we knew it we had pulled into the driveway. We unloaded the van and were so excited to see Jamie and Mr. DeGraffenreid. There were cookies, brownies, muffins, and cheesecake waiting on the kitchen table for us to devour. Everything was so delicious! I would like to take a second to thank Mr. DeGraffenreid for opening up his home to the seahawks.
At 10 am we packed up the van and headed towards Towson. We typed breakfast places into the GPS and found “Greg’s Bagels”. Coach hopped out of the van and asked the man if he could take a “group” of people. The guy turned to Coach and asked if we were a “weird” group. We seemed very overwhelming to the staff working: we wanted it all on one check? We were from UNC in Wilmington? And the man wanted us all to date his sons. The bagels were awesome! And the most ridiculous comment of the weekend came from John when he met a mom with two babies that were a week apart, “WAIT A MINUTE, you mean to tell me you can have a baby and then a week later you can have another baby????” Turns out they have different moms!!
After a few wrong turns we made it to the courts. However, John was not off the hook yet. The Towson coach told us to park in the grass down by the courts. As John was backing into the grass, he managed to get the van stuck in the mud. We could no longer go forwards or backwards!! Eventually, he was able to move the van.



John, you are no longer allowed to make fun of the way women drive!! Hartley and Chelsea took care of business first, but Hartley thought they had one more game left. Drexel came out ready to play, but the Seahawks won the doubles point. Chelsea was done with her singles in 20 minutes and Coach continued to cheer for her while she had already been done for 20 minutes! C-Lee and Kayla both lost tough first sets but came out strong in the second and both won in a super tiebreaker! Coach got us dinner reservations at the ESPN Zone a couple blocks from where we were staying! We had this private room that overlooked 20 TVs. After dinner we had a team competition in the game room upstairs. The seniors were captains. Team Schwenk: Kayla, Lindsay, Coach, Riley, and Chelsea. Team Ballers: Hartley, John, Margery, Casey and C-Lee. Team Schwenk struggled a little but Coach took down Hartley (24-9!!!) in the basketball “game” and Christina Lee destroyed Ware in the football.

Next up Delaware: The matches were moved indoors because of the weather. We drove to Elktin, Maryland to play at a country club. There was one viewing window in the lobby and there were screens separating each court. We had a lot of intensity and number 3 doubles got the first point. Number 2 doubles won in a tiebreaker and C-Lee hit a lob for number 1 doubles to win just as the Delaware coach was coming over to stop the match. C-Lee, Riley, Kay, Dash, and Chels all came up with a win. It was a great team effort from everyone. Final score: 6-1. Next up: Cheesecake Factory. We hit some traffic on the way home but the Dashes and Schwenks were in town so they put our name in. Ten loaves of bread later, we finally got our food. I think it is safe to say that the Chicken Romano was the favorite. John sat at the opposite end of the table eyeing the chicken and potatoes. On C-Lee’s way to the bathroom she stopped and took a walk through the kitchen admiring all of the good food!

When we arrived at the courts for our match against Towson it was 37 degrees with a wind-chill in the 20s. It was freezing!! The Seahawks got down to business early winning all 3 doubles matches while serving and volleying at 40-0. We only had five courts to play the singles’ matches so Hart had to bundle up and wait for someone to be finished. She ended the day strong and we headed to Uncle Wiggley’s Over Stuffed Sandwiches, which were delightful! The Seahawks were now 3-0 for the weekend. We had the rest of the day to nap, get homework done, or walk around the Inner Harbor. C-lee, Riley and I walked around the shops and put our name in at Cheesecake Factory because there was a 2-hour wait. After dinner, all 7 hearts met in Coach’s room and we talked about our final match of the weekend against James Madison.

The Seahawks got a little bit of a slow start only winning at number 2 doubles. However, we came out with a ton of fight and intensity at the beginning of singles. C-lee leveled the matched at 1-1. Riley lost a BATTLE at number 3 and Chelsea tied the match 2-2 with a great win at number 5, continuing to run down tons of extra balls. I battled back after losing the first set and won 7-5 in the third giving the Seahawks a 3-2 lead. Kayla, put up an unbelievable fight and dealt with a few questionable situations and the match was even at 3-3. Dash, lost the first set, but stormed back to win the second set 6-1. She battled back from a 5-3 deficit in the third. Baby dash comes through in the tiebreaker and the Seahawks win 4-3!!! All 7 of us left everything on the court and it showed today. A big thanks to the Dashes and Schwenks for making the trip and getting to experience this weekend with us. It’s always great to feel at home even when you are on the road. What would we have done without Mr. Schwenks’ pretzels and Mrs. Dash’s pacing in the field? Great weekend Hawks!! Next up is Junior Chelsea Kahle.

The Lady Netters were back in action last week after returning from South Florida – playing at Charleston Southern Thursday, and playing host to the MAC Champions Miami of Ohio and conference rival CAA Champions Georgia State over the weekend. Before I discuss the specifics, I want to congratulate the team of Kayla Schwenk and Christina Riley and the team of Lindsay Leblang and Christina Lee for earning CAA Doubles Players of the Week the past two weeks. The CAA is one of the toughest women’s tennis conferences in the country and our teams deserve this honor and recognition for their achievements. (Collins and Kahle would be players of the week this week if I were the judge!)
We knew we were in for a challenging stretch of matches.
The Seahawks have had epic battles with the Bucs of CSU the last few years – splitting one match 3-3 (our only tie, EVER) and squeaking out an amazing 4-3 win at home last year. (Thanks Chels!)
This year was no different. The doubles point (fittingly decided in a breaker) came down to a series of unfortunate events that made the doubles very intense. Let’s just say the tennis gods were not smiling on us. When lucky bounces go your way, winning is laughable, but when they go against you, and cost you a match, it is, well, unfortunate, and the Hawks came up just short.
Likewise, the singles matches went back and forth and despite the fight, we could not gain the last push of momentum.
The highlights of the match included the impressive play of sophomore Casey Dashiell and junior Lindsay Leblang. Dash and Linz have both made a habit of winning and their grit and determination are contagious! Dash was zipping some slices around and on set point in the first, after she sprinted up to a drop shot wide on the forehand side, and played a fluffy little cross-court drop shot angle a la LI, she let out a “COMMEE ONNN!!” resembling one you might hear at the US Open!
Linz also had an enjoyable, pleasant match, as usual. Just eeeassy sailing for Leblang. Keep up the fight Linz!!
Christina Lee continued to bring her relentless determination and desire to run!
Coach Baker has a talented team and it is clear that they have very clear game plans and on this day, they stuck to their plans and executed well.
As always, We fought hard, start to finish, tough day.
5 bathroom breaks later, we arrived at the DUB. Luckily, our arrival was just late enough to stave off ice baths…our favorite past time!

Ice baths are fun because?.....
a) They send Dash into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
b) You meet cute guys in there.
c) You don’t have to shower later.
d) They make you feel like C Lee the next day.
e) An ice bath causes the blood vessels to tighten and drains the blood. Once you step out of the cold, ice infested water your body begins to warm and new oxygen filled blood begins to flow throughout your legs. This helps nourish the cells and flush lactic acid out.

Yeah C, there is a right answer!

Friday we had a nice “short” practice. We like to go “light” the day before matches so when Coach said we were only going from 3-4:30…uhhh, yeeeaahhh, about that. Coach has a broken watch at practice. I think it is because she is always having so much fun, but to her, time really flies. So, at 6:45, just before the sun was setting, we wrapped up the “light” hit and J Dub got to go string rackets! I am pretty sure the night before matches, some of us – I won’t name names here, so as to not incriminate anyone, ( K Schweezy, C Leezy, and ye who eats all the PBandJeezy’s) – must file down their strings so they are sure to bust right before the match. Stop that!

Saturday came early for J Dub. 11 am matches mean I have to get up extra early. So, with my alarm ringing in loud and clear at 9:37, I was up and at ‘em.

The first match of the weekend was conference rival and defending CAA Champs Georgia State. Led by 28th ranked Diana Nakic, Georgia State always comes to compete.
The Seahawks got off to a great start, clenching the doubles point with big wins at #2 and #3 doubles. At the #2 spot, Linz and C Lee have been major nuisances for their opponents. There are not many teams in the country that can match their defense!! Insane how many balls these two make you play to win a point!!
At the #3 spot, Chelsea and Hartley have set the tone for what they are going to bring each week; great serving, aggressive net play, and a lot of HEART! It has been impressive watching Chelsea, who has been sidelined since last April with a faulty wheel, work her way right back to where she left off – winning!
And after just a few short weeks, she and Hartley have stepped up and played well in some big matches.
Winning the doubles point was serious. We knew it was going to take a huge effort to beat the defending CAA champs and getting the doubles point was the first step.

The singles was tight! Dash got us out to an early 2-0 lead with yet another clutch win. Trailing 2-3, Christina Lee polished off her opponent so she didn’t have to be the last one standing! C has been in MULTIPLE 3+ hour marathon matches, leaving her out there all alone. Not this time tho C!! Leveling the match at 3 all, it was up to junior Lindsay Leblang. Linz was down a set and trailing in the second. At 4-5 0-40, when many players would lack belief in themselves, Linz was just getting started. 15-40. After an insane cross-court buggy-whip forehand, Linz got it to 30-40. What seemed like an eternity later, the third team match points had been erased and Linz managed to serve out the game. We were knotted at 5-5! Amazing! Linz polished off that set 7-5 and stole ALL the momentum. Unfortunately, with her wrist in a sling, back in a brace, and coach in a coma, (ok, I wasn’t in a coma, but I was mentally about to combust watching all this!) Linz’s body decided it would be a good time to add a little more adversity. First her fingers starting cramping, then her forearm, but she ignored them and fought to get an early 2-1 lead. Eventually her calves began cramping, too. Margery was giving her everything but the kitchen sink, Coach was doing her best, massaging her legs like she was charging by the second, and somehow, she hobbled her way around the court and got up, 5-2. I just knew she was going to pull this one off!! She has so many times before! Regardless, it was one of the grittiest matches ever!! Sadly, Linz came up a few points short in the third set tiebreaker. On the bright side, and there is always a bright side!, Papa Leblang, teammates, fans, and coaches got to witness an exciting, hard fought, emotionally gripping match It is efforts like this that make us all proud to be SEAHAWKS!
I give a lot credit to GSU’s Tereza Levora for staying focused and overcoming the obstacles that she had to face in winning this tough match. As hard as we were pulling for her to double fault….JUST ONCE Tereza!! She stayed poised and played a very tough match.

A few Ice baths later (and a trip in the EMT vehicle for Leblanger) and we were right back at the courts ready to take on MAC champions Miami of Ohio. The Redhawks were fresh off a win over Georgia State and, unlike the Seahawks, had a day to rest. Miami (OH) has been a top 70 program all year and we knew we were going to be in for another battle!

The doubles point was FUUUUN!! Linz and C Lee continued to enrage their opponents by making them play extra ball after extra ball. They won 8-6, tying the doubles at 1-1. The #3 dubs team of Hartley and Chelsea trailed 7-4 in the decider. Luckily, my great coaching skills new just the plan…I promised them that if they won, they could keep Marley, the greatest dog in the world, for an entire week...and so they did. At 4-7, this team stepped up and played their best doubles of the season, sweeping the next 5 games and clinching the doubles point for the SEAHAWKS!
Doubles points are so exciting and so quick, and it was so impressive to watch Hartley and Chelsea battle their way back into that match after trailing 4-7 and find a way to win it!!

The singles was equally exciting, with momentum shifting back and forth on every court. Of course, Dash quickly put the Seahawks up 2-0, using her speed, consistency, and Fed-like chip to down her opponent. Linz, less than 24 hours removed from her body completely rejecting her, had stormed back from a 1-5 deficit in the first to take the set 7-5, but trailed 0-4 in the second. Christina Lee, playing an incredibly gifted ball striker at the #1 spot, managed to win the first set by running down 1,000,000 balls. You could see the looks of awe in the stands as the fans watched her stretch, contort, and will her body to make her opponent hit one more shot. C dropped the second, and was on her 25th mile in the 3rd before falling a few points short. Christina continues to leave every ounce of herself on the court each match and if it weren’t for the post-match chocolate milks, yes that is plural, I think she would wither away.
At this point, Linz had stormed back from 0-4 down to take the match 7-5, 6-4, earning a roar from the crowd that had seen her battle so courageously the day before. Leblang’s win put the match at 3-2.
Chelsea, who regrouped from a tough first set tiebreak loss, won the second set, extending her match to a critical 3rd set. Having Chelsea still in a live match really helped Kayla, who was also in a tough 3rd set. There is nothing tougher in tennis, considered a team sport, than to be the last player on the court in a live match. It helps to have your teammates at your side cheering, but everyone in that situation knows it’s them versus their opponent.
At this point, Kayla, who managed to raise her focus and intensity with every minute the match continued, had stormed back from a set down, to lead 5-4 in the 3rd. Chels was just beginning her 3rd set and Kayla, who knew for an absolute fact that Chels was going to win, ‘cause that’s what Chelses do, relaxed her mind, parked her car in Happy, and let the match win itself. Too easy!! OK, so maybe it didn’t happen quite like that, but it did help K to have her teammate out there still competing. Knowing that helps reduce just a little of the immense pressure that comes with closing out matches…especially the clincher!! And that’s what K did! It is great being the last player on the court when you win, and Kayla deserves to be that player because she kept herself positive, stuck with her game plan, trusted her shots, and put herself in position to win – which she did!
This was a huge win for the Lady Netters and above all, it was a team effort from top to bottom! The best kind!!

The Seahawks host UNC-Greensboro at home Tuesday at 2pm, and head to Maryland Wednesday for the CAA Round Robin where we will square off with Towson, Drexel, Delaware, and JMU. And after this weekend, you will be graced with the words of wisdom from junior standout Lindsay Leblang!!

SPRING BREAK - - SEAHAWK\SCHWENK STYLE

Hello again from the Lady Netter’s. I hope you all enjoyed the last blog written by Hartley. My name is Kayla Schwenk. I am a senior from Coconut Creek, Florida, which happens to be my location as I start writing this blog. The Lady Netter’s, John Ware, Coach and her two youngest kids, Corey and Carly, spent Spring Break in my hometown. The time here has gone by way too fast and no one is ready to say goodbye. However, we aren’t saying goodbye quite yet, our flight is delayed due to the weather, and we are chilling in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, so let me start from the beginning.
Rob Brickels, the Director of Seahawks Sports Marketing, graciously offered to drive us to Raleigh Sunday morning. He did get something in return though; Mr. Rob and Ware destroyed the oatmeal cookies that we brought with us, leaving us 2 out of 20 cookies! Thanks for the ride though!
Lindsay has been having some awful luck these past two weeks and it only continued when we got to the Raleigh airport. As we went through security she somehow “lost” her ID. Thirty minutes later it was found wedged between the rollers of the security table. She also got the luxury of sitting in the middle seat between C-Lee and muscle man. The only thing keeping him from being the actual Hulk was the fact he was not green. He didn’t want any of the snacks provided on the plane, just his protein bar, shake and powder would suffice. I want to take this time to introduce Hartley to all of you since she had the pleasure of telling you a little about all of us. Hartley has a lot of determination and has worked hard to get to where she is today. She is the person in the van who is always making things “awkward” or trying to get someone to wrestle with her, just to back out when they take her on. Hartley is also a little afraid of flying so needless to say, Casey is still trying to getting the feeling back in her left hand from Hartley squeezing so tightly.
Once we arrived at my house we grabbed some lunch courtesy of Publix and mamma Schwenk and headed to the pool to blind my neighborhood with our paleness. That night, my parents had a “treat” for the Lady Netters; they had rented a Hummer limo to take us to Taverna Opa in South Beach Miami! It is a Greek restaurant where they dance on the tables and yell, OPA! They encourage the dinner guests to join them, so of course C-Lee was the first up, followed by me and Lindsay. We walked around South Beach taking in all the interesting specimens. Our next stop was Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor, where the Sundaes are as big as my head and can’t be finished by four Lady Netters, which is saying a lot! We were all surprised by the sweet ride, and had a great night. Thanks a lot mom and dad!

Monday-Happy Birthday Baby Dash!!



Casey wanted to take in as much sun as possible for her birthday, so on Monday after a solid hit, where John Ware almost got knocked out by one of my NO swing volleys, we headed to the beach. Everyone got a little color, but Riley took the cake with her stellar finger marks from where she missed the sunscreen-it’s starting to blend though, no worries Riley! That night we had a packed house for dinner including Coach’s brother Mike and Patti Leblang. Thankfully my grandma had cooked beforehand so nobody had to endure my mom’s cooking (just kidding mom).We had a great dinner highlighted by Patti’s broccoli casserole, my sister’s chicken tacos, and our favorite, the flaky rolls. We played a Chinese gift exchange sort of game, which Carly Garrity dominated; winning all sorts of prizes that her mom was thrilled about including marshmallows and two huge chocolate bars. C-Lee had some difficulties with the game, but with just one second on the clock, rolled a 7 and stole the chocolate bar she had been eyeing the entire game. We finished up the night singing Happy Birthday to Dash as she blew out her candles.
On Tuesday we had our match against Nova Southeastern, ranked number 24 in Division II. Introductions of the players were a little unorthodox, with Chelsea’s shin tape drawing the most attention. Since we were at their courts we played Division II format, meaning every doubles match is a point. Nova played some aggressive doubles but we were ready for them and pulled away with all three. As singles got underway, we pulled ahead on all the courts, and did not drop a set on any court. Riley and Linz came away not dropping a game. Seahawks take the win 9-0, and are 5-3 overall…Great Job Hawks! We had a great group of fans as well. Mr. and Mrs. Kahle drove all the way from Punta Gorda with their dog Charlie to show their support. Lindsay had her parents, brother and Aunt cheering from the fence and my parents and sister were there too! From there we grabbed some lunch and headed to Orlando. However, we had a little confusion on where 95 intersects I-4, for all of you travelers, it is not in Orlando! Just a minor detour…Oops. It all turned out ok though, we made it to the Cirque de Soleil- La Nouba. Our seats were amazing (thanks Coach) and the show was insane. We were all fired up for Magic Kingdom the next day.
We started the day with a trip to good old Waffle House and then headed toward Magic Kingdom, where dreams come true. The great thing about this trip was that we all participated in the “Give a Day Get a Day” program through Disney. We volunteered at Angel Food Ministries and in return we received a free day at Disney. The crowd favorite was Space Mountain. Seven year old Corey Garrity rode Space Mountain, but Riley was afraid of the dark, so she sat that one out! Riiiillllleeeeyyy!
(Coach took care of Riley and took her 5 year old and Riley on the Peter Pan ride!!) Casey and Coach dominated Buzz Light-Year, and Chelsea, well her gun must have been broken. I am sure that’s what happened Chels! Just when we thought the excitement was coming to a halt, Priscilla Roberts, a former Seahawk made an appearance. It was a great surprise. We went to dinner and spent the night catching up. It was a long day, but we had a great time.
On Thursday we headed back to my house, hit some balls and vegged-out. We were exhausted. Once again we had a fantastic dinner and Denny’s pie (courtesy of Mr. Leblang). Chelsea won a very close, down to the wire game of Left-Right-Center. The night ended with watching a classic, Dumb and Dumber…don’t worry Ware we didn’t even think about you when we saw Lloyd Christmas! We headed to bed, and breakfast at First Watch came way to fast. Coach had been talking about this breakfast for a month now, and it lived up to the hype.
Well, that about sums up the Seahawks Spring Break! A HUGE thanks to my parents for putting up with us for the week. We had so much fun and appreciate everything. We are back in action all weekend in Wilmington. You will be getting some much missed “wisdom” from John Ware next. Flight 630 to Raleigh is now boarding!

Intro's....and On the Road Again.....

Welcome to the UNCW Women's Tennis Blog! Every week or two, a player, coach, or guest writer is going to write an entry updating anyone and everyone about your Lady Seahawks. Our team has a current record of 4 -2 and our season is about to get very busy with some BIG matches coming up!
Let me first introduce myself, your "first Seahawk blog writer". My name is Hartley Collins and I am currently a senior. I absolutely love being on this team! We have two awesome coaches and a group of girls that I consider a family away from home. I am currently attempting to come to grips with the fact that graduation is right around the corner and my days as a current Seahawk are quickly dwindling (whether I am ready for them to or not)!
This past Sunday, our team returned from a five day road trip where we faced three very tough opponents; Presbyterian College, Furman, and UNC Charlotte. I think many of my teammates would agree in saying that taking road trips is one of the things we look forward to the most; marked by exciting tennis, great food, and lots of funny stories.
So let me start from the beginning of our trip, Wednesday afternoon, where we loaded up our 15 passenger van and headed for the road. Our van was crammed packed with rackets, shoes, bags, two coaches, seven players, and a big box of snacks and goodies (compliments of Coach). Let me introduce you to my teammates as if you, yourself, were riding along in the van with us! So grab a seat and make sure to buckle up, John “I love to make eye contact with you in my rear view mirror while we talk” Ware is driving.
I am not sure who started this "tradition", but we always sit in the van according to your year in school...seniors in the front row and freshman in the very back. In the front of the van with the entire first row to herself, you can find senior, Kayla Schwenk. She will most likely have a bag of pretzels in one hand and her I-Phone in the other clicking away; sending an email or updating her calendar! Kayla is one of our top players on the team and is a great senior leader. Behind Kayla, in the second row, you will see junior Lindsay Leblang. She is sitting next to none other than yours truly…lucky girl! In preparation for our match, Lindsay is probably talking about the teams we are about to face. With that crazy memory of hers, she will remember that she played a girl on Furman's team when she was 14. In her story she will be able to tell you the exact score, what the weather was like, her percentage of first serves and what flavor Gatorade she was drinking that day. Oh yeah…she also just remembered Kayla was also in that tournament, playing three courts down in the blue shirt!
In the third row sits junior, Chelsea Kahle and sophomore, Casey Dashiell. Chelsea is reading from a Microbiology book. I glance over my seat and attempt to look along, and my head immediately starts to hurt as I read words that don’t seem to be written in English. Chelsea is one of the most driven people I know and with that brain of hers she will make a very good doctor one of these days... I can see it now: "Dr. Kahle” performing clutch bone surgeries, grunting in between each incision. Chelsea is currently coming back from a stress fracture in her foot and is doing one heck of a job. I am very lucky to be her doubles partner and let me tell you, she is moving like Apollo Ohno on skates out there! Chels is coming back full force, so watch out folks.
Sitting next to Chelsea, is little Casey Dashielle, otherwise known as "Dash". Although only coming in at a whopping 5'4, Dash plays like she is 6'5, with a huge heart and lots of determination. On this van ride, or any other, you will see her eating her fifth peanut butter and jelly of the day. She also has a huge smile on her face because, being a big sophomore and all, she is finally out of the last row!!!
Speaking of the last row, who is that way back there??? No way would I forget the two Christina's! Sophomore Christina Lee and our only freshman, Christina Riley are chillin' in their seats! Sharing a pair of head phones between the two of them, they are bobbin' their heads in unison and singing along word for word. Christina Lee, aka C-Lee, is extremely laid back and easy going. She answers almost every question with a simple, drawn out, "goooood" and when telling stories she uses words like that’s "so cool!" or "awesome!" It makes you feel like your story is the best ever told! Next to C-Lee is Riley, our freshman from Indianapolis. She is a huge Colts fan and loves her some Peyton Manning. (Hey Riley, quick question: how bout' them Saints?)
And don’t forget the two coaches! Coach Garrity is sitting in the passenger seat, reading a sports magazine and occasionally jotting notes down in her infamous black notebook.... whatcha writin' in there Coach??? Assistant coach, John Ware, is “driving”, if that’s what you call it. He is drinking his all-natural-vegan smoothie, changing the song on his I-Pod, and talking to Coach...all at the same time! But hey, he gets us there safe and sound so that’s all that matters!
The four hour trip is over before you know it and we pull up to our first stop, Christina Lee's house. There to greet us, and our big appetites, are the Lee's! Mr. Lee cooked us up an awesome dinner! It was called Frogsmore Stew. Unless there were some unknown frogs in that huge pot of his, I am not sure where the name came from. But other than the frogs it has eggs, shrimp, sausage, onions, potatoes, and corn. It is cooked in an enormous pot (almost the size of Riley’s racket bag) and when it is done it is dumped on top of the newspaper-covered table. Then everyone digs in, no silverware required...it was pretty cool and very delicious. A big thanks to the Lee's for hosting us! Also at the dinner table were my parent's. Only living a few minutes away from the Lee's they made the trip over, bringing some serious desserts. Brownies, cupcakes, and ice cream! Yummm...unfortunately Coach, Kayla, and I gave up desserts for Lent, so we missed out on that. But I heard they were pretty tasty, so thanks mom! They were so good C-Lee even snuck the leftover cupcakes in her bag for a hotel treat for the next few nights. Our Coaches didn’t know about that one. After a delicious dinner and some good conversation we all got a good night sleep in preparation for Presbyterian.
We arrived at Presbyterian ready and excited to play! It was very, very windy, but we took care of business and won 7-0. You can ask Casey about the details of the doubles matches because she was intently watching every point. She even let out a very odd and loud sound when Chelsea barely got to a ball. Other than noisy little Dash, the highlight of the match was Kayla's victory in singles, winning 11-9 in a third set breaker. Her experience and poise definitely played a large role in that win. Yeah Schwenk!
Next up we traveled to Greenville, NC to take on the Furman Paladins...what is a Paladin?? If anyone knows please share! On Friday night before we faced Furman, we ate an awesome dinner at a Mexican restaurant, called Chicora Alley. Along with our burritos and tacos, we watched curling on the Olympics. We were trying to figure out the point and/or the rules of the sport...we still don’t know! Next we made an ice-cream and coffee stop at Spill the Beans (so good!) and walked out on a bridge that was hanging in mid-air. I’m not kidding, it was a bridge that curved around and was somehow suspended in the air. Seeing that I am terrified of heights, I didn’t ask too many questions, but it was definitely the coolest bridge I have ever seen!
After all the food and fun, Saturday morning came around and we got back to being match ready and quickly became focused. Furman is a very talented and experienced team and we all knew that they would be our toughest opponent of the weekend. It certainly helped to have three noisy moms there to support us, all with hot chocolates in hand! Mrs. Schwenk made the trip all the way from Florida, so it’s safe to say she was probably chugging her hot chocolate in attempts to stay warm! We started out the day winning a much deserved doubles point! At the number two spot, Lindsay and C-Lee took care of business winning 8-6 and gave the first point to the Hawks! Chelsea and I found ourselves down 6-2 before buckling down and making a big comeback. We tied it up at 8-8 before losing a close one, 7-5 in a tiebreaker. So with the overall score at 1-1, it came down to the first court. With everyone watching, Kayla and Riley stepped up big time and played some great doubles. They came up with a clutch victory, winning 7-3 in a breaker!
So with the Seahawks up 1-0 and everyone pumped up, we headed into singles. Just like doubles, all of the singles matches were just as intense, filled with great playing and frequent "come-ons!" and "let’s go Hawks!". As all the matches were wrapping up we found ourselves all tied up. The overall match score was tied at 3-3 with Riley and Linds putting up the two big wins for the Hawks. It came down to the first court, where you saw Christina Lee in a BATTLE. As Coach Ware likes to say Christina is a "freak of nature" when she is on the court. She runs down every single ball as if the ball was a Luna Bar ready to be eaten (flavor: Nuts Over Chocolate…of course!). But seriously there is nothing she can’t get to! The match lasted nearly four hours and Christina left absolutely everything out on that court, never giving up! Although it’s unfortunate, there had to be a loser to the match. Christina lost a heartbreaker, with the score of 6-4 in the third. So the Hawks came up a little short, losing 4-3. But we had a heck of day with no regrets!
After the match we drove back to Charlotte where we all hit the pillows pretty hard! Sunday morning we woke up to our final day of a long trip. We faced another very tough opponent, UNC Charlotte. In the previous 3 years we have beaten the 49ers with two competitive 4-3 victories, so we knew it was going to take some tough play to win. Although many of us, especially C-Lee, were sore and tired, we were determined to finish the weekend on a high note and leave with a victory. And we did just that, winning with an overall score of 6-1. The UNCC match was highlighted by the great play of Christina “don’t serve that to my sick forehand return again!” Riley. She dominated at number 3 singles; winning 6-0, 6-0.
Overall, we had a VERY successful weekend finishing with 2 wins and 1 loss. Next up is ODU and then a weeklong trip to Florida were we will play Nova Southeastern, go see Mickey at Disney World, and hope to get some much needed sun…Chels put your socks back on, your feet are blinding me girl! We will be staying at Kayla’s house. We all can’t wait...so see you soon Schwenk family! Kayla is next up to post a blog about our trip to her home-town. So make sure you check back to get the latest news on your Seahawk Lady Netters.
LET’S GO HAWKS!