starting off the year...

This past weekend we had our first fall tournament of the season at Wake Forest! It was great to compete again with all the girls, and it was especially incredible to see Liz make her debut on the court for the first time in two years! She played really well, beat a ranked player, and has a lot of good things to build off of. Our new freshman, Monica (aka Mon Mon), also made her debut on the court with us and had a good tournament. She has been a great addition to the team and is extremely good natured. Both Ellah and Reka had a solid performance playing doubles together. The duo teamed up to get to the finals of the doubles draw, but lost a tough match to Illinois for first place. 

Although it was such a good feeling to be out on the court competing again, my favorite part of the weekend was just being with the team. It didn't matter what we were doing...driving in the car, dinners, breakfasts at 7am, watching TV together at night, quoting our favorite youtube videos...we were always laughing and had permanent smiles on our faces. It reminded me how much fun we have together and just how much I've missed team trips with the girls! 

We are all really looking forward to our next tournament, All Americans, out in California. Liz and Monica begin matches on Saturday in the pre-qualifying draw, I begin on Tuesday in the qualifying draw, and both Reka and Ellah will be starting play on Thursday in the main draw. Keep an eye out for results!! 

Until next time, GO DUKE! 

-Amanda