Diary

Jamie
Chan

Past Entries

May 3, 2004

The rains that plagued us in Rochester, NY, two weeks ago revisited us last weekend during the NCAA regional tournament. However, that didn't stop us from totally dominating our competition, giving us a place in the quarterfinals at nationals.

Patience and flexibility were the key words for last weekend. Regionals were hosted at our home courts, but we didn't have the opportunity to play our matches on them because of the rain. We were slated to play Saturday against Rhodes College, who had beaten University of the South. Before we went to bed on Friday night, Coach Amy told us that there was a high possibility of rain on Saturday, and to check our e-mail at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday for the plan of action. That night, I went to bed to the sound of torrential rain and thunder.

Saturday, 7:30 a.m.: Although the courts were soaked from the previous night's rains and the skies were threatening to once again pour down on us, Coach Amy, the eternal optimist, sent us a peppy e-mail that said "Let's squeegee!"

Saturday, 8 a.m.: Coach Amy's enthusiasm was inspirational, and soon we were all out of our warm, comfortable beds squeegeeing (yup, that's how you spell it…I had to look it up in the dictionary) the rain drenched courts. After more than two hours of doing as much squeegeeing, toweling, and water blowing (similar to leaf blowing) as was possible, the courts were just starting to show signs of drying. The skies were looking a little clearer, too. But alas, our hard work was not to be rewarded.

Saturday, 10 a.m.: RAIN! Yes, the dreaded "R" word had returned. It started raining. While we were waiting for the rain to stop, Marc, one of our assistant coaches, showed us the finer points of rowing while Julie used the downtime to string a racquet. Finally, the decision was made to go indoors and start play at 1:30 p.m. After a quick uniform change into our new, spiffy, Anna Kournikova-esque tank tops, we loaded the van and headed to the Racquet Club of the South (RCS).

Saturday, 1:30 p.m.: After warming up, we started the doubles matches and quickly won all of them to take a 3-0 lead. Similarly, Mary Ellen, Jolyn, Carina, and Richie swept their singles matches. Since the match was only played until decision, Marge and I weren't able to complete our singles matches, but we did manage to play a few points against our opponents. Although Breana and Petie weren't able to participate in the match play, the hardworking duo found an alternative form of exercise -- working out in the fitness room of the RCS (this was Breana's second time working out this day! Well, if you count the intense squeegeeing, it'd be her third…She's an Energizer bunny!)

Although the weather last weekend wasn't the most accommodating for tennis, we didn't let it have an effect on our stellar performance. We proved that we can look good AND win at the same time…Anna Kournikova should take a lesson from us! We arrived on campus exhausted, but in high spirits from our win. After hitting tennis balls all day, we still had to "hit the books" to prepare for our exams. Good luck, my fellow teammates! And many thanks to all the Athletics and Recreation personnel that helped prepare the courts for regionals.

Jamie Chan is a sophomore from Lakeland, Fla. She would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.