Thursday, 09/13/2012

Guess who's back?

Sometimes we're late, sometimes we're early, but we're never "out" of time - and so invariably a new Fall semester begins here at William & Mary. Which means you now find yourself reading the Women's Tennis Blog, because let's be honest this year: they rock. They rock because the characters rock. And like in any storybook, here in Tribe Tennis there are characters that enter, characters that leave, and some, like the courts and the infamous turf, that stay for a good while.

I'm skipping over summer road trips, country hopping across Europe, Ben & Jerry's, that golden man Mo Farah, beach bungalows, improvised hill runs, learning, and the last slurp of one's granizado de limón not because it isn't exciting, but because these are all topics you can enjoy in face to face conversation with any one of my fantastic teammates. New to this year's group are a pair of freshmen who I will introduce briefly, but honestly (really trying to stick to some sort of theme here...).

Leeza Nemchinov has a diva for every day of the week. There's "on court" diva, "I really need a manicure" diva, "oh no you didn't" diva, and my personal favorite, "I'm such a diva" diva.  Leeza is very Russian...there's an unmistakably loud Russian soul prancing about in this new feisty member. Besides planking for minutes at a time, Leeza also enjoys a warm spinach dip with a nice big bowl of Tostitos Scoops. If you spot a blonde tennis girl who is shorter than Jeltje (but taller than Sydney) stop by to say "hello" in Russian. She's always looking to enhance her bilingual skills. ;)

Completing our freshman duet is Jackie Lee. Jackie is a solid day younger after traveling all the way from Australia. Along with tennis racquets and shoes, she also brought along an impressive collection of heels. We are the same shoe size - which means nothing more than having feet of similar lengths. If I was Nina it might mean a whole new wardrobe of possibilities. But no, it'll be 2020 before you see me strutting by in 6-inch heels. Jackie always carries a handful of milk chocolate koalas in her bag because well...she's from Australia. If you want some chocolate, or just really feel like listening to a silky accent, introduce yourself to Jackie!

A new coaching staff enters the Tribe line up as well this Fall. Tyler Thomson and Jesse Medvene-Collins are excited to be working with the Tribe. If you can't tell by Tyler's voice, then look to watch one of our on court workouts. His enthusiasm manifests in a series of intense rhythmic drilling. If you can't reach one of our workouts, feel free to shoot Tyler an email. He's really good about email. If Tyler is somehow unreachable (which is not possible if you choose the email option) you won't have to look far to find Jesse. Jesse, bless, is actually one of the kindest people I have met. And I really can't find anything to tease him about...which is a super bummer. Jesse, I'm sure by the end of the year I'll have a bit of good material - for now you've escaped the wrath of the blog. 

Follow our results online when we split the Tribe this next weekend traveling to Duke and UVA! As always, GO TRIBE!

Quotes of the Week:
"He's as mad as a hippo with a hernia" - Zaszu from the Lion King
"Haha...is that a saying?" - Jeltje
"I feel very sick" - Nina
"Me too" - Jeltje
"Like seriously sick" - Nina
"I feel fine" - Marlen
"Everything is so good ... but so bad!" - Masha