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.
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