The Holiday Season and Beyond

Dearest Duke Tennis Fans,

            With the holiday season fast approaching, DWT took some time out of our finals studies to give back to the Durham community. This past Thursday, DWT partnered with Playworks to run a clinic for students at C.C. Spaulding Elementary School. Playworks is a wonderful nonprofit organization that operates nationwide. Its goal is to reduce bullying and teach kids to resolve conflicts by integrating physical activity and play time into the school day. The students we worked with are currently involved in a year-long tennis program culminating in a match against another elementary school that is running the same program through Playworks.

           

            We ran the kids through some drills to work on some of the skills that they have learned from their Playworks coaches including racquet control and stroke technique. We had an amazing time working with the kids. They were so enthusiastic about tennis and eager to learn and improve. Personally, I hope that we have imparted our love of tennis with these kids and they maintain the same work ethic and enthusiasm.

            We would also like to thank the many people who helped DWT set up this event. First, to Larry Herst who gave us the inspiration for this event and helped us with planning along the way. Second, thank you to Playworks, and especially to Laura Deeprose, their program coordinator. Laura was integral in the realization of this event and without her help and enthusiasm this would not have happened. Lastly, thank you to the kids of C.C. Spaulding for making our time with them so enjoyable. They were wonderfully behaved, listened carefully to our instructions and did everything we asked with their best effort.

            On a separate note, DWT is looking forward to the start of our spring season. We kick it off with a trip to the beautifully sunny HAWAII for two matches against the University of Hawaii on January 9-10. We then return to Durham for the start of the spring semester and our first home match on January 19^th at 6pm against William & Mary!!! We hope that you will join us.

            As always, DWT would like to thank you for your continued support of Duke Tennis. We cannot describe to you how much you mean to us. It gives us so much joy to see you cheering for us at all our home matches.

            Have a wonderful holiday season,

            Hanna Mar and all of DWT

Whatever It Takes

Dear Wonderful Fans,

I apologize for this delayed blog post but finals have gotten the better of me for the past week. Well, it has been a surreal couple of days since our amazing ACC tournament victory last weekend. I cannot describe in words just how happy we all are and how much this means to everyone. The professionalism and humble confidence with which everyone approached each match was admirable. I am especially proud of our four freshmen that have never been in that position before. The way that they battled and exuded energy definitely inspired us all to work harder and made the fight just as enjoyable as the victory.  As our season draws to an end with the NCAA tournament ahead of us, it inspires a time of reflection on the past year. A quote that Jamie introduced to us as the theme for the ACC tournament sums up this year’s DWT team better than anything I’d be able to come up with – “Whatever it Takes.”

First of all, I must once again mention our fab four freshmen— Annie, Trice, Monica T., and Ester-- and what they have done to transform DWT into more than just a winning tennis team. It is difficult to believe that it was less than a year ago that these girls joined the team. Additionally, I personally can’t believe that they are only freshmen. These girls have been willing to sacrifice so much throughout this year and have been a key driving force to our successes through their maturity, ambition and hard work. What makes this so astounding is the fact that freshmen naturally tend to enjoy (sometimes over- enjoy) the crazies of college years and have to be “watched” so that they don’t harm themselves or the team in the process. But these four, have been nothing but perfect with the professionalism aspect of our team values and have truly raised the level of our program to new heights.

Han and Big Ray have continued to epitomize hard work and commitment throughout the year. There are no harder workers than these two and I believe that they have driven our team to exceed expectations at every practice, Howser workout or lifting session. I cant remember one time where either of them had an excuse or a complaint about anything. Furthermore, they quietly go about fulfilling their roles with complete humbleness. They truly are role models on this team and make DWT a place where we can all grow as people in addition to improving our tennis.

Last but not least, Mary is an example that I’d use when talking about the characteristics of a perfect leader. Throughout this year, I think she has grown into a responsible, assertive and organized person who has led us at every step of the way. She has been the solid rock for our team by keeping the channels of communication open between the coaches and us. Her leadership and friendship means so much to everyone on the team and I’d definitely say that Duke tennis is lucky to have a person like her representing the program.

Throughout this year, we have been able to overcome personal and team obstacles and challenges to do what is best for the team and for the pursuit of our goals. No matter how hard they may have been, every girl has done her absolute best to put others in front of individual interests. Now, we’re busy doing whatever it takes to get through finals week and then we’re going to be doing whatever it takes to reach our ultimate goal of securing another NCAA championship title for the Duke program. It’s going to be a busy couple of weeks but we’re super excited to give it our all!

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

DWT: 2012 ACC Regular Season Champs!

Dear Wonderful Fans,

This weekend was definitely one filled with emotion. It was amazing, horrible, joyful and sad all at once. From a tennis perspective it was nothing short of fabulous! It started out with a great win over UNC on Thursday where everyone played with such poise that carried right through to the weekend where both Boston College and Maryland fell victim to some of the best tennis we’ve played this season. And with all that, we are very proudly, the 2012 ACC regular season champions with a perfect 11-0 record in ACC play. We cannot thank-you enough for all your support throughout our regular season. It would have been a complete struggle if we did not have all of you out there supporting us and cheering us on.

From a team perspective, this weekend (my senior weekend) was definitely one of the sadder times in my life. On Saturday night, we had a team dinner at Washington Duke where I felt honored to have both Mary and Jamie say some extremely kind words about me. Needless to say, holding back the tears was an arduous battle. And, as if that was not more than enough, I had a whole match dedicated to me when we played Maryland (sighs). Knowing that my time on this amazing team built on a program of an array of past amazing teams is coming to an end is absolutely heartbreaking. What I will miss more than anything else is the family that I have become part of through the honor of being a part of DWT.

Naturally with something of this importance coming to an end, a torrent of memories floods back… I remember becoming a part of DWT back in 2009, just after the team won the NCAA championship. I remember thinking to myself back then about how lucky I was to be able to come to this amazing school and be a part of such a great team with girls that I looked up to throughout my years in junior tennis. Those girls as well as each of the girls that have subsequently joined our team have been a group of lovely characters that helped me grow and develop throughout the years and whom I consider my sisters. They have been with me through the lows and celebrated with me through the highs and I cannot be more grateful to all of them for what they have done for me. I’ve said this before, but I cannot stress how much more DWT is than just a tennis team— it’s a friendship circle where we will all remain an extended family way past our years at Duke and I am so lucky to be a part of it.

On a different note, I cannot be happier to announce that Mary Clayton will be the captain for the 2012/2013 year! She has been and remains an amazing leader throughout this year and has definitely earned the respect of everyone on the team with her ability to manage the team as well as advise the coaches.

GO MARY!

This week, we finally enter our tournament season! On Friday we play our first round of the ACC tournament at the Cary Tennis Park. If you can come out and support us we’d love to see some Duke faces in the crowd!

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

Thank-you parents

Dear Wonderful Fans,

Thank-you so much for coming out to support us this weekend against both Miami and Florida State. Those were two great wins for us and it would not have been as smoothly achieved if we did not have you all out there supporting us. In addition to the two wins, this weekend was special in so many other ways as well. Firstly, we officially acknowledged Jamie’s amazing wins record and his achievement of becoming the winningest women’s head coach in the ACC’s with a little ceremony and a surprise tennis ball shaped cake. This goes without saying, but we’re extremely proud to be part of this achievement and this Duke tradition that has been developed throughout the years under Jamie’s leadership.

In this short blog, I’d like to acknowledge the people that have sacrificed so much for us and continue to support us through everything— our parents. This weekend was a perfect example of how important our parents have been and are to our successes with them all sitting up in the stands and cheering us on. We had the Capra family, Mrs. Kahan, Mr. and Mrs. Turewitz, Mr. Spicijaric and the Ashworth family all here to show us their love and support. Throughout the season we’re continuously joined by parents who travel across the country in order to show us their support. It’s always comforting to know that we have such wonderful people to help us through when times get tough or when we just need a little encouragement. I know that all the girls on the team are extremely grateful for everything that they do for us (including all the delicious baked goods that we receive on a weekly basis) and we’re always so happy to see their reassuring faces in the stands!

GO PARENTS!

This week marks the last three matches of our regular season. On Thursday we play UNC at 3PM. GTHC! We then play Boston College at noon on Saturday and Maryland at noon on Sunday. Come out and cheer us on!

GO DUKE!

Yours in tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

Jamie Ashworth- The all-time winningest women's head coach in the ACC

Dear Wonderful Fans,

I hope you are all having a wonderfully sunny Monday! The last two weeks have been extremely busy for us with four tough ACC-regular season matches. But, we’re all really happy with our four wins thus far and hope to keep improving leading up to the tournament season.

This weekend was a remarkable time for our program, and more specifically, our coach Jamie Ashworth who made history and became the winningest women’s head coach in the ACC’s after our win against UVA. We are all extremely proud of Jamie for this accomplishment and feel honored to be part of such a program. So, it is only fitting that I provide you with the inside scoop behind our accomplished head coach.

From a tennis standpoint, the results speak for themselves. Its not often that you see a coach with the ability to improve a program the way Jamie has done. DWT has risen to a top-5 caliber team and was ranked as high as 1 in 2009. Amongst the amazing wins record and the quality of recruits to our program (just take a look at our current freshman class for a prime example), Jamie led the 2009 DWT team to win our program’s first NCAA Championship. As if this is not enough, Jamie has multiple ACC championships and ACC regular season championships under his belt. I could probably spend this whole blog and another one listing all of Jamie’s amazing accomplishments but I’m sure the above snapshot gives you a sneak peak. But what about our candy- eating and Mountain Dew -drinking off-court head coach?

Jamie’s love for candy and junk foods is something that we’re all grateful for because we all end up getting a share of the treats in most instances. On just about any trip, there are stashes of caramel apple lollipops (our favorite), jellybeans and various other goodies hidden around just waiting to be discovered. He does not know this yet but on our trip this weekend, we found his jellybeans in the front of the van and may or may not have stolen a few.

From a junk food’s perspective, our annual trips to California come to mind. Whether it is for the All-American tournament or a dual match, we find ourselves enjoying the LA celebrity scene once in a while. Every time we’re in that part of the country, our trip is not complete without a visit to one of Jamie’s favorite dining places— IN-N-OUT Burger. I’m not denying the fact that we all enjoy the occasional junk-food splurge but the excitement that this “sacred” place causes for Jamie (and I must mention Marc here as well), is probably one of the main reasons why this has become an enjoyable junk-food destination for our team. Oh, and of course Jamie has his very own IN-N-OUT Burger shirt (or a couple?) that he whips out once in a while to attest to his love for this chain.

Finally, I cannot forget about Jamie’s avid enthusiasm for busting out into song once in a while. Play a Jimmy Buffet song, and you’re in for a treat. We’ve definitely had our fair share of trips involving some amazing choruses… usually high-pitched and a “tiny” bit out of tune, but amazing nevertheless. And, of course, for all the Jimmy Buffet enthusiasts out there, dining at a Margaritaville is a must, making it another predetermined team destination whenever the opportunity presents itself. Jamie’s hope is to one day become Jimmy Buffet’s buddy… ask him about his plan of action towards achieving this goal and you may be surprised at how genius and well thought out it is!

All jokes aside, Jamie’s coaching and management of our team has made Duke one of the most desired places to attend. I can think of multiple tennis players whose aspiration is to play on this team. We’re all very fortunate to come to an institution of this caliber and be part of a program that Jamie has molded into one of the best in the country, and world for that matter.

GO JAMIE!

Next on our schedule is a trip down to Clemson on Friday and then to Georgia Tech on Sunday. These are two great opportunities and we’re all excited to show them what we’ve got.

GO DUKE!

Yours in tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

DWT Spring Break 2012: Dinsey and a whole lot more...

Dear Wonderful Fans,

I hope that you all had a wonderful spring break! This time of year is probably one of our team’s favorites since we are finally able to play outdoors and enjoy some beautiful sunshine. Last week was definitely one of the most memorable of all DWT trips. We began our spring break trip in the snowy cold with a big win over Notre Dame. We then jetted off to Orlando, Florida where the real, child-like fun began.

For the serious college students that we try to be during the school year, we are not afraid to let our “happy child” sides shine when given the chance. That’s exactly why Jamie’s surprise plans throughout the week were met with squeals, giggling and joy. On day one, we spent the whole day bustling around Universal and Island of Adventure. We warmed up our roller coaster riding with “The Hulk” and then quickly ran off to join the line for the Harry Potter adventures. Our team Hogwarts boff, Hanna, made sure that we knew some background information and exactly where to go as we moved through the amazingly recreated wizarding world. The magical tour would not be complete without a delicious “butter beer” which we waited over half and hour in line for— Definitely worth the wait. Other highlights from our exciting first day includes going on the “rock n’ roll” roller coaster as well as eating the famous turkey legs that are served throughout Disney.

Day two was no less exciting as we spent half the day at Magic Kingdom. The team favorite was definitely the “Space Mountain” ride but “Splash Mountain,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the “Monsters Inc.” show were all wonderful! Thanks to Big Ray and Hanna’s efforts to find us fast passes, we managed to do all of this and save some time for character searching at the end. I’m pleased to say that Jamie found both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger to have his photo with and we happened to stumble upon Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in the parade. I can confidently conclude that DWT is definitely “Disneyed out” from our wonderful adventures!

Just as we thought that there were surely no more plans because of what we had already been treated to, Jamie surprised us with tickets to a Cirque du Soleil show called “La Nouba.” We were all astounded at how talented the acrobats, jugglers, jump ropers and dancers were. This was a first time experience at this type of a show for a lot of us and we were definitely blown away by what we saw.

While we were enjoying all these fun activities (I forgot to mention shopping at the outlet stores), we also spent our mornings practicing and getting used to the outdoor conditions. I think that all the girls will agree that this was a great week of practice that prepared us well for our match against UCF where we won 7-0 and set the foundations for our outdoor season ahead. Next, we travel to Gainesville for our matchup against Florida this Wednesday. Our next home match will be next Saturday at noon against NC State. Come out and cheer us on!

FINAL NOTE: Overall, spring break was a great experience both on and off the court and I would like to especially thank the people that made this all possible for us— Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield. Thanks to these wonderful people, we were able to experience these memorable moments and grow closer as a team. Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield have done so much for Duke Tennis and we are all extremely grateful to have their continued support for our program.

GO MR. AND MRS. SHEFFIELD…. AND DUKE!

Yours in tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT.

40th Anniversary of Duke Women's Athletics

Dear Wonderful Fans,

Thank-you so much for coming out and supporting us against VCU this weekend! It’s difficult to compete with a men’s basketball game being scheduled at the same time so we are very grateful for your attendance and support.

40^th anniversary celebrations: As I’m sure you all know, Duke athletics was celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Duke women’s athletics this weekend. It was such a treat for all of us to get to know some of the older alumni as well as see some of our beloved familiar faces that graduated within the past few years. We all attended a dinner on Friday night where we got the chance to talk to the alumni. Additionally, some current and past athletes gave wonderful speeches where they reminisced on their experiences at Duke. This once again showed us how lucky we are to be part of DWT and how the friendships and support network that we form on our team will travel with us beyond Duke and hopefully in the future, we will also come together at these events and be able to look back fondly on our Duke experience.

DWT Tennis Clinic: Last Sunday, we hosted a very well received clinic for children between the ages of 7 and 15 from different tennis clubs in Durham. Initially, the clinic was intended to introduce The Girls Club mentoring program mentees to tennis and our team but unfortunately, they were unable to attend. However, we were pleased to host over 20 children! We played some really fun games throughout the morning with some “snack breaks” as a little boy labeled the breaks in between the games where everyone would run and grab a little treat from the assorted cookies, bars and snack packets that we had available for them. At the end of the fun-filled morning, each child went away with some form of Duke memorabilia in addition to what we hope is a fond memory of spending some time on court with us. All in all, this was a great event for the children and for us, and we hope to host one again in the near future!

This week, we travel to Notre Dame to play on Saturday at 3:30 PM! This should be a great match and we hope that you follow our results online.

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT.

National Team Indoors: Finals Day

Dear Wonderful Fans,

Unfortunately, things did not go our way today against UCLA. However, the score definitely does not reflect the battle out there. The matches were all very close, with every girl fighting back and making UCLA work for it until the very end. With a few points here and there, the match could have easily gone our way.

After the match, Jamie emphasized that we should take this match as a learning experience and as a measure of what we are capable of achieving. We will have many more similar opportunities ahead of us to battle through and we will be better prepared the next time we’re in this position. As one would expect, we were not very happy chappies today but this tournament proved to us that we have the capabilities to be the best team out there, both on and off court.

Personally, I am really proud to be part of DWT. Having four freshmen on the team that have both the motivation and maturity to work this hard and support the team is a rarity and we have the privilege of having four such girls on this team. If nothing else, this tournament gave us the opportunity to learn a little more about ourselves and each other and it brought our DWT friendship circle even closer together— and at the end of the day, those are the memories that have a lasting impact.

For now, it is back to school and back to the books as we all have some catching up to do… Our next home match is against VCU on Saturday, February 25^th …. We hope you can all make it out to support us!

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT.

National Team Indoors: Day 3

Dear Wonderful Fans,

We’re in the finals of National Team Indoors!!!!! It is difficult to describe how excited and honored we feel to be in this position to play for the title tomorrow. Today’s match was a great show of DWT energy and support that Cal Berkeley had no answers to. We definitely hope to build on this tomorrow as we go into the battle for the title against UCLA… We’re looking to give it our best shot and leave everything out on the court.

Since it is Grammy Award night and we’re all glued to the TV screen, it’s only right that I talk about DWT music. Besides things such as gum and frozen yoghurt that are an essential part of DWT life, we are also very much into our music. Whether it is 6AM before a match or just before we go to bed, all the girls on this team enjoy a wide variety and genres of music. Our song of the tournament has been “The Champ” by Nelly. Marc has made it a ritual to play it just before and after our matches and it’s definitely an inspiration to us.

Here’s a selection of some of our current favorites. There’s something for everyone so download and ENJOY! :

Locker room song: Chicken Fried- Zac Brown Band

Annie: Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson

Trice: Glad You Came- The Wanted

Moni T.: Collide- Leona Lewis and Avicci

Ester: Till I Collapse- Eminem

Hanna: All We Are-One Republic

Big Ray: I’m Shipping Up To Boston- Dropkick Murphys

Mary: Next to You- Chris Brown

Mo G.: Summer Girl-Leighton Meester

We play at 11AM tomorrow and just to remind you again, you can get our scores and updates on GoDuke.com.

GO DUKE!

Yours in tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

National Team Indoors: Day 2

Dear Wonderful Fans,

Day two of National Team Indoors down and DWT is up and rolling into the semifinals! The match today was a major improvement on yesterday with everyone really coming out with a ton of energy and getting the job done in an efficient manner, beating Michigan 4-0. I think everyone played with passion out there and we did a good job supporting each other, which made the playing a lot easier. As always, we wish you were here supporting us but we were treated to some parents in the stands today— Hanna’s, Ray’s and Trice’s parents were all here cheering and bringing the Duke loudness all the way to Charlottesville which was awesome to hear!

Some random DWT news: Each season, we have a team that is known for some sort of tradition or superstitious behavior. Past teams have had to eat the same breakfasts before matches, others need to listen to a specific playlist before matches, but I don’t think we’ve ever had a team that has been so attached to gum-chewing as this year’s team. Last night, I was surprised to find out that Mal, who always seems so calm and composed during the matches, uses gum as a way to steer superstition in our favor. Every time a person loses a game or seems to lose a couple of points, Mal chews a new piece of gum and throws the other one out, even if she’s only been chewing it for a couple of minutes. Needless to say, once the match is over, she has chewed up a whole pack of gum. Additionally, she only chews fruity gum during the day and mint gum in the evenings… I haven’t asked her whether this is also a superstitious ritual, but it’s amusing nonetheless.

While superstition might not be everyone’s reason for chewing gum, most of us go through at least a pack a day. Trice may be one of the most notorious gum chewers DWT has ever had. So when you come to our next match and you don’t have gum on you, we’ll probably have a stash in our pockets and we’re always willing to share!

Tomorrow, we play Cal Berkeley in the semifinal round. We’re very excited for this opportunity and we’re ready to bring our best game!

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

National Team Indoors: Day 1

Dear Wonderful Fans,

The first day of the tournament was a tough battle but we came out on top, beating Ole Miss 4-3. We wish you had been here to enjoy the nail-biter because your cheering and support always helps us through and makes it more fun out there for us!

This morning, Jamie talked about how we are all here for the team and every individual is important to the success of the team. I think we definitely put this into practice on the court today and did a good job of battling, supporting and pushing through to the end. Even though the girls will agree with me when I say we all could have probably played better, I think that we definitely set the tone of striving to improve throughout the tournament and the support that we have for each other will be a defining factor as we move forward. With this, I want to refer to one of my favorite quotes— “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” We proved that we’re in this together today and we’re going to be even better at it tomorrow and let the results take care of themselves.

I’d like to draw special attention to Annie Mulholland who clinched the match for us today. Being a senior, I can tell you that being the last one out there in that atmosphere and having the responsibility of winning for your team is one of the toughest things to do. However, it is also one of the most satisfying and amazing feelings to achieve. Annie played her heart out there today and showed true leadership by the way she fought against a sporadic opponent and maintained her composure until the end. She’s a freshman but she showed that she’s going to fight for this team until the end. She might not always be successful but her efforts and her heart out there will be the things that the team appreciates more than any win.

Tomorrow we play our quarterfinal round against Michigan at noon... As always, we wish you were here but check GoDuke to follow our scores and I will keep you posted through this blog.

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

National Team Indoors Eve

Dear Wonderful Fans,

Thank-you so much for coming out and being so LOUD for us against Northwestern last Saturday. You made the battle so much more exciting and we really appreciate it! The time for National Team Indoors has finally arrived. We have been preparing for our first match against Ole Miss tomorrow at 9AM. This is the start to a great opportunity for us to play (and beat) the best teams in the nation and we definitely feel prepared for the fight. We had a good practice yesterday and this morning, focusing on getting used to playing on different courts as we have (fortunately) had consecutive weeks of playing on our home turf.

Tonight, we went to the introductory team banquet. This was one of the few opportunities to dress in non-tennis clothes, which always causes some excitement amongst a girl’s team. Needless to say, we had been discussing our outfits since early this week and made time to take some photos. The dinner was delicious! Hanna could tell you endless details about the Tiramisu, which was a total hit. After the introductory speeches and an overall pleasant evening, Marc drove us to a DWT sanctuary—Arch’s. Every year when we make a trip to Charlottesville we make a point to go to this wonderful place and enjoy some frozen yoghurt with “gooey brownie” topping. It has become a little bit of a team tradition and we were happy to introduce the freshmen to this deliciousness.

For now, we are off to bed and ready for an early start to an exciting day tomorrow. I will keep you posted on every day’s events and results so that you can all be with us in mind and support us all the way from Duke! Oh, and a big shout out to the Men’s Basketball team for beating UNC last night… we were all blooming with pride when it was mentioned at the banquet and we were happy to watch the game and

support the team on TV.

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

"A day without laughter is a day wasted."- Chaplin

Dear Wonderful Fans,

With the conclusion of a really great weekend, we are off to National Team Indoors in just over a week! This is an awesome opportunity for us to play some of the best teams in the nation. Jamie presented us with our famous tennis center quote on Friday: “ We set standards that make others wish they played for Duke.” After the playing this weekend and the overall energy, we are definitely ready to live up to the challenge of setting a higher standard for ourselves and for the other teams out there.

In this blog I’d like to introduce you all to the three honorary members of our team, our three lucky charms— Albert, the tennis fairy, Dobby the gnome and Bumper the Leprechaun. This may seem a little strange to some of you (DWT is sane, don’t worry) but I think that these three little characters have earned their way into our team and have become an integral part of the locker room.

Here’s a little background: Dobby, personally named by our Harry Potter wiz- Hanna- lives in his own little garden house on our windowsill. His dear friend, Albert, who has a Santa Claus-ish beard, BRAIDED EYEBROWS and who is dressed in a very abstract glittery outfit, has his very own tennis racket and resides next to Dobby. Oh, and Albert originated in one of Trice’s Christmas gifts last year. Big Ray’s little, green leprechaun, Bumper, is cased in one of the smallest containers I’ve ever seen. Despite us begging her to release him, Rachel refuses because apparently he’s guarding a gold coin (I don’t know any Irish folklore but apparently a leprechaun cannot stop guarding this coin to bring luck.). Anyways, Bumper lives on the same windowsill in our locker room and accompanies Big Ray in her matches each week.

Why are these abstract charms so important? Well, they’re our lucky charms of course but more importantly, they have become a kind of pre-match locker room attraction and ritual for us— they make us laugh!

There is no denying that everyone gets a little nervous before matches. This is good. A little nerves, when managed correctly, makes one more ready to play and more energetic on the court. But it is when nerves get the better of us that we stop seeing the fun in playing and we become too serious. I know that each girl will tell you that they play best when they’re having fun out there. While they’re having fun, they transfer the positive energy to the rest of the team and before long, we’re all having fun, we’re positive and more often than not, we’re winning. I think that the rest of the team will agree with me when I say that there’s no better way to have fun than to laugh… and that’s precisely what our lucky charms represent in our locker room.

Whether it is a funny story, a joke, or just us being silly, every girl on this team knows how to laugh at themselves and with others. We try and bring a light atmosphere to every practice, match and event so that we aren’t only getting the job done, but we’re having fun doing it. Beyond teammates, DWT is a wonderful friendship circle and we’re proud of it! And thanks, to our three little lucky charms, we have daily reminders of the importance of having fun together.

Next weekend, we play Northwestern at noon on Saturday (4^th Feb.). We hope that you can all come out and support us because we always value you all cheering us on.

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT.

Striving for Greatness

Dear Wonderful Fans,

I’m happy to say that our first dual match weekend was a great success— not only in terms of the results which were obviously very pleasing, but also in terms of how our team was able to come together, work together and really play for each other. Thank-you so much for coming out and supporting us. It always means so much to hear you cheering and it makes our jobs on court all the more pleasant and much easier!

Before our match against William and Mary on Friday, Jamie provided us with a really meaningful quote that I think sums up what we’re trying to achieve— “you don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to become great.” This weekend was the start to an extensive season ahead. Our ultimate goal is to win the NCAA Championship in May but in order to get there, we need to apply ourselves to every match so that we can be as prepared as possible for what lies ahead. No match is going to be easy and I think that each girl has realized and prepared herself for this.

This weekend was the first dual match for the four freshmen and the first time that they were playing for a team rather than for themselves. Rather then fret and fear the matches, they all approached this challenge with such ease and poise! Additionally, each of them did an amazing job of cheering on the rest of the team and really looking out for one another. With a new team (especially as much as 4 new freshmen), the team aspect sometimes can be difficult to develop because of differing dynamics, but I think that this group of girls is truly here to play as a unit rather than as separate individuals.

As we move forward, we definitely hope to build upon this weekend from all aspects. We are trying to fulfill our responsibilities to the team by looking after ourselves off the court and making sure that we’re staying healthy and rested so that we can perform at our best when the times come. This means many sacrifices in other aspects of our lives, but we have a goal and a well-established belief that the team is the priority right now. As the famous DWT saying goes: “TEAM FIRST!”

Next weekend we play the first rounds of the National Indoor tournament. We play against College of Charleston at 2PM on Friday and if we win, we play Illinois/ Winthrop on Saturday at 6PM. Please come out and cheer us on! And, if you see us around, don’t be afraid to ask us anything or talk to us because we really want to get to know you a little better and I think it would be awesome if you got to know us off the court a little better as well. We have some real goofballs on the team but I don’t think this is always clear from our serious on -court selves!

GO DUKE!

Yours in Tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT

Welcome Back!

Dear Wonderful Fans,

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas break! This goes without saying, but DWT is tremendously grateful for your support thus far and we hope that you are as ready as we are for a much-anticipated season. Similarly to last season, this blog will serve as a weekly update for you and will provide you with some “insider” information about our team. But, more importantly, I hope that this will be a means by which you get to know this year’s team a little better. As I’m sure you know, we have four new additions to the team this year— Annie Mulholland, Beatrice Capra, Ester Goldfeld and Monica Turewitz. My hope is that you get to know each one of these special girls for their off-court personalities as much as for their on- court, beastly selves by the end of this semester.

A brief recap from the end of last semester: we had the opportunity to participate in a very rewarding, team bonding experience by reaching out to the Durham community. We visited The Girls Club mentoring program where we gave a brief presentation in which we introduced ourselves and talked about the value of teamwork and how this is applicable to one’s life outside the athletic world. After this, we presented each of the 25, excited children with their own Babolat rackets. This experience was not only beneficial to the children but it made us realize how important it is to use our privileged positions as Duke student-athletes to help and inspire the less fortunate. Additionally, the presentation forced us to reflect on the value of teamwork and the meaning of being a good teammate, which will be tremendously important in defining our successes this semester.

Back to this semester: This weekend, we had the opportunity to play some great matches at the UNLV Invitational as a prelude to the dual match season. I think that each of us now has a better understanding of the things that we need to work on personally this week as we move towards our first dual match. Off-court, this was the first time in Vegas for a lot of us and we had the opportunity to explore the crazy casino world (without actually participating obviously). While the slot machines are the usual attraction in this part of the country, our pyramidal-shaped Luxor hotel provided us with enough areas of exploration. Hanna’s mathematical mind could not get enough of the diagonal path of the inclinators as opposed to the normal up/down movement of elevators. Other attractions included dining at various lavish restaurants and losing ourselves in the AMAZING four-story M&M World. Oh, and obviously we spent a lot of time relating our experiences to the wild adventures depicted in “The Hangover” movie.

This weekend we will embark on our dual match journey with a match against William and Mary on Friday at 5PM and a match against Indiana on Sunday at noon. I know that we are extremely excited and ready to prove to you and to ourselves that we can reach our goal of winning this year’s NCAA Championship. However, every journey begins with a single step and we realize that we have a lot of work ahead of us to achieve this goal.

Please come out and support us and BE LOUD (tennis is a LOUD sport)!

GO DUKE!

Yours in tennis,

Monica Gorny and the rest of DWT.