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