February 2013 Archives
Like most college students, we started the week off by simply going through the motions. It was one of those weeks that we were just trying to get over with; one of those weeks where getting out of bed each morning could be considered a monumental achievement. Everything hurt, everything ached, and we were all exceptionally tired.
Between long nights spent studying for (and stressing over) exams, early morning classes, difficult practices and constantly rushing from one place to another, our energy was practically nonexistent. For us freshmen in particular, the life of a college athlete was starting to take its toll. We were literally sick and tired. Now, I am not a morning person, nor have I ever claimed to be a morning person. And judging by how we all stumble out of our rooms in the morning looking like death warmed over, I'm sure I'm not alone in my sentiments.
With the team already feeling burnt out and a whole week still ahead of us, it seemed nothing short of an IV full of caffeine would get us through each day. But Terps being Terps, we carried on like brave, racket-wielding warriors. Albeit, tired, cranky and seriously sleep-deprived warriors.
I can tell you from experience that nothing brings a team together like the combined effort to avoid running sprints... and nothing cures constipation quite like having balls shot at you while you're at the net.
Despite how tough these sort of practices can be, it's meant to be getting us ready to play more difficult matches and to refine our great warrior skills. Personally, I think we're partaking in some ancient tribal ritual meant to cull out the weaker ones as a sacrificial pre-game offering to Testudo... but that's just me.
Unfortunately, if we thought that the week had been difficult, we were in for an even harder weekend. To put it simply, on Saturday, we lost our footing... and then proceeded to make quite a marvelous landing on our backsides. The coaches took us aside afterwards and gave us a speech that was both extremely motivational and deeply inspiring.
Unfortunately, I can't recall the exact conversation, but I do know that the words "6 a.m." and "sprints" were used repeatedly...
On Sunday, we were finally able work together as a team to turn things around. We won of course, and afterwards we had a celebratory meal which consisted of sandwiches and more than enough junk food to make up for all of our extra effort. What can I say? Victory is sweet...both literally, and figuratively.
If anything, the matches on Saturday brought us closer together as a team, and I hope I speak for everybody when I say that I'm proud of the us. We may not have 'blitzed' the Spiders or held up our "spotless home record", but in the end, we came out better for it. And after all, that's what counts.
Welcome to the first Maryland Men's Lacrosse Blog featuring
the No. 1 team in the country. Of course, we will rewind the Loyola game and
preview this Saturday's Duke game, but we will also take a look at the Terps'
history as the top team in the nation.
Plus, we will also look at the Terps' leading scorer through
three games and what's unique about that situation.
Let's get to it ...
Hey Terp Fans!
After an outstanding win last weekend at our Pink Meet, the Gym Terps were excited to get back in the gym to work even harder! We had a short week, since our next home meet was the following Friday. Therefore, we put everything we had into our only two practices, which were both team events.
Hey Terp fans!
It's a bit chilly here in College Park, but hopefully this Tumble Talk warms up your day. It has been quite an exciting week for the Gym Terps!
Hello Terp Fans!
After some tough and disappointing losses
against BC and Harvard, the Terps were ready to go back on the courts and
prepare for the next match against Towson in two weeks. The losses against BC
and Harvard showed us that we still had to improve individually and more
importantly as a team. For many of us, tennis has always been an individual
sport, but college tennis is all about being part of a team. To be part of a
team means that you're not only responsible for your own actions, but also for
your teammate's actions. As Coach Panova says, "A team is only as strong as it
weakest player."
The first week of practice contained some
struggles and challenges that we had to face as a team. One of the challenges
was to lead practice on our own. The coaches were at practice to help, but
wouldn't tell us what to do. The first time we had to lead practice on our own
was quite unexpected, which resulted in an interesting and uncoordinated
practice. The next day, we got a second chance on leading our own practice.
This time we knew what was expected from us. The practice was better
coordinated and we had more energy as the day before, but we still had important
improvements to make as a team.
The second week started off with the giving
out iPads to all student-athletes by the athletic department, funded by the
NCAAs Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund. Of course, we were all very excited to get
the iPads that will help us in the classroom and help us academically when we
are on the road for matches. After getting our iPads before practice on Monday,
the Terps were ready to work together, improve individually and as a team, and
to prepare for the match against Towson. The next few days of practice showed off
the improvements we're making as a team, but the real test would come against
Towson on Friday.
On Friday, we had our third home game of the
season against Towson. After the losses against BC and Harvard, the team was
looking for a W and to implement the improvements we made over the past two
weeks. We secured the
doubles point quickly with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, while No. 3 doubles
was 7-2 up. After a short break we went into singles where we cruised to wins
on 5 out of 6 courts. Only Gabby had a tight match at No. 5
singles, but secured the win and our third clean sweep of the season by winning
the super tiebreaker 10-2.
The 7-0 win over Towson was a great win for
us a team, especially since we were able to implement what we had been working
on for the past two weeks. There are still things we will have to keep working
on individually and as a team, but the important part is that we're getting
better every day. Overall, the
struggles and challenges of the past two weeks have made us stronger as a team
and we're looking forward to take on No. 70 Columbia and Richmond this upcoming
weekend to get some more W's.
Go Terps!
-Vroni
What an opening week for the Terps, but it's just a start
and there's so much more to go in the 2013 season, beginning with a game just
up the road in Baltimore on Saturday.
We will preview the game at Loyola (Can we call this one a
rematch? Read on and find out.), including some interesting ranking stats to go
along with it, the historic start of Kevin Cooper and rewinding the Terps' win
at Hartford.
Let's get to it.
 The Maryland field hockey program won both the college and women's senior divisions in the Big Apple Indoor Tournament. Maryland beat Virginia 5-3 in the college final. Alyssa Parker led with three goals, and Sarah Sprink and Emma Rissinger scored the other two.  In the women's senior division, Team STX was made up of Maryland alums. They beat Team USA 3-1. Megan Frazer scored two goals and Melissa Vassalotti was named player of the final.
A quick turnaround means a short blog this week (well, short
is a relative term for this blog). But there's plenty to get to as we look back
at the season opener, including some eye-opening last times and the number of
different scorers. We will also look ahead to the game at Hartford and some
other tidbits as we go.
Fresh from Boston, the Terps
just finished wrapping up an eventful trip after competing against Boston
College and Harvard this past weekend. These last few days have been
particularly exciting as it was our first away competition, but more importantly,
marked the first of our ACC matches this season. Surprisingly, traveling
together for the first time west a lot smoother than expected, but certainly
made for a hilarious and entertaining trip none the less.
The girls were able to get a few hours of
classes in before heading off to BWI Thursday morning. After grabbing some
lunch, we were off to Boston! The immense amount of turbulence, combined with
Coach Panova's fear of flying, made for a hilarious flight. Once in Boston, it was
time to hit the courts and get down to business. Luckily, we were to practice
on the same courts we were going to play on the following day, allowing us to
get used to the fast-paced courts of Boston College's home turf.
The following day during our pre-match lunch, Welma gave
the team a good quote to embrace. As said by John McEnroe, "Champions find a
way to win, even when they aren't playing well." Moving into our match later
that afternoon, we went into it with this mindset. We were all excited, but a
bit nervous, to play our first conference match against BC. We did well in
doubles, with Olga and Tally clinching the doubles point for us in a tight
tiebreaker. In singles, we were only able to capture two out of the three
matches we needed in order to win, causing us to fall short 4-3 for the overall
score. On a higher note, Vroni was able to win her match at the no. 1 position,
earning her first win over a ranked player. Congrats, Vroni!!
On Saturday, after packing
up, we headed into Cambridge to play our next match against Harvard. When we
first got to their athletic complex, we spent 15 minutes walking in a big
circle in the freezing cold trying to find the courts, when really they were
only about one minute from where we had parked. Let's just say that was part of
our warm up. We ended up having a disappointing 6-1 loss, but we know what we
all need to work on for the coming weeks, both individually and as a team.
From the courts, it was
straight to the airport; time to head home. While waiting at the gate, we all
huddled around Welma's laptop watching hilarious videos. The plane ride back was equally funny, making jokes alongside Coach
Panova while waiting for the impending take off. The
final leg of our trip was highlighted by a prank the coaches, Vroni, Welma and
I played on the four freshmen, as well as a stolen laptop score for me (that
was fun).
These past three weeks have
been marked with a lot of "firsts" for us all, both good and bad. Even for the
upperclassmen, and second semester veteran like myself, we're being exposed to
new experiences as a team every day. All in all, our experiences so far are
propelling us forward and making us a better team. We look forward to working
hard in these upcoming weeks as we prepare for our next match against Towson,
and the future matches to come.
Thanks for reading!
GO TERPS!
Sarah
Welcome to the first edition of
the Maryland Men's Lacrosse Blog for the 2013 season. This is the sixth season
for the Blog and there is sure to be plenty to cover as the Terps embark on
another season looking to claim the brass ring.
For those new to this (we do get
new fans every year), the Blog is posted to umterps.com every Tuesday around 3
p.m. (give or take a few minutes) during the season. The Blog covers everything
to do with the Terps, along with some news, insights and opinions (mine alone
as the writer) concerning the overall landscape of college lacrosse.
So, without further adieu, lets
get to it ...
Hey Terp Fans!
After a tough loss this weekend at UNC, the Gym Terps were back in the gym Sunday morning stretching out, perfecting skills, and preparing for the next meet!
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