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