On the Turf with Erika Wachter
8/31/2011 10:51:12 AM | Field Hockey
Read Blog No. 1
Loud cheers, singing and sounds of joy filled the locker room as a result of it being the final day of preseason practice. While preseason was technically only 16 days, I think we can all agree in saying that it felt like it was an entire season! Yet that's understandably so, considering we practiced almost three times a day, every single day!
Anyway, we kept our last day short and sharp and looked forward to our first annual “End of Preseason/ Kick off to Season” Banquet. While the reason behind this event is exciting enough on its own, the team was just as thrilled to actually be able to dress up a little, put on makeup and normal clothes and wear our hair down. Only dressing in sporty clothes and having your hair in a permanent messy-bun for two weeks isn't the most beautiful look, to say the least.
As we all arrived, we complimented each other's on our outfits (and complete different senses of style) and immediately began posing for photos with one another. As always, food was a top priority, so the four seniors made a short and sweet welcome speech that even thanked our estimated ten guests (outside of the team) for coming. It was a small crowd. In fact, four guests were under five years old. Martina Loncarica and Liz McInerney were quick to find these youngsters and take them as if they were their own. I'm not kidding here; I honestly thought Martu (Loncarica) was planning on taking the child home with her.
As the evening progressed, individuals won clothing for summer small-team competitions (mostly everything seemed to go to Iona Holloway and her Cookie Cutter team), and then we announced our 2011 team-appointed captains. Seniors Martu (Loncarica) and Nicole Nelson were elected co-captains by their peers, and junior Amy Kee, was chosen to be our on-field leader, meaning she will be the voice to the referees on the field during games.
The night came to an end, and after snapping a few more pictures outside, we all went our separate ways and prepared for our game the next morning. The game time changed to noon to accommodate Monmouth and its travels back into Hurricane Irene. So, at 9 a.m. (we eat three hours prior to a game), the team met at Bruegger's Bagels. This is our pregame spot for home games and we all enjoy a fresh bagel or breakfast sandwich (or two) and usually some water or orange juice. It was delicious! After receiving warm wishes from some locals, one man continued his conversation. “Is that really a good pre-game meal, girls?” “Yes,” we all replied. “A lot of carbs!” He joked with us that it was okay for this time, but if he read that we didn't win, we weren't allowed back for the bagels anymore…only pasta in the morning! Lucky for us, we blanked Monmouth 4-0 in our home opener.
Following the game, we met with our families outside of the field for a tailgate. These are always so much fun! The parents do such a terrific job bringing us food, including salsa and chips, pizza, salads, fruits, candy, cookies, sandwiches…you name it- we got it! However, what makes our first home tailgate so special is “the freshman song.”
The freshman song is a song that the girls sing about their teammates. They take the tunes and beats to many popular songs, and then make up their own words, saying something about their upperclassmen teammates. It's embarrassing, but it's a blast and we've all done it. This year, Stephanie Hussey did a great job leading the group! Her personality shined! Sophia Openshaw was a close second with her bubbly smile and together, the two of them even made Lauren Brooks and Jordan Page stand out as outgoing gals. You usually don't hear many words come out of their mouths, so hearing them sing was quite the special treat!
Before we knew it, it was already Sunday and we really enjoyed having to trek out to our training room in the pouring, freezing rain, just to get even colder and submerge our sore bodies in ice-baths. NOT. The day after a game is our “regeneration day.” We put on our spandex and hit the cold-whirlpools, then followed it up with rolling out our legs using foam rollers. It's painful on your muscles, but well worth it.
After the regeneration sessions, some of us assisted in giving tours around our locker room to a few high school juniors attending a clinic. I then drove home the freshman, who seemed to only be focused on printing out their syllabi for their upcoming classes. Their syllabi included: Introductory Biology and…Ballroom dancing?! I hope Lauren (Brooks) can show us her dancing moves soon.
I haven't found out how that dancing class is working out for the freshman just yet, but I will keep you posted. Other classes I look forward to hearing more about include: Haley Bomboy's communications/yoga/meditation course. Random? I'd say so. All in all, everyone had a great first day of classes. Whether it was their first day in college, or the first day of senior year, everyone seemed content and enjoying the 'back to school' vibe. The first day of school is always an exciting time…new clothes, new classes, new people. It's so great! Besides, for us, after being on an empty campus for several weeks, we just enjoy seeing so many people running about.
Later that day, we embarked on a journey of what we hope turns in to be a weekly ritual of half-price sushi. However, according to roommates, Liz (McInerney) and Adrian Chambers, an 8 p.m. dinner date actually means 9 p.m. and, “I'll be ready in five minutes” means “I just showered and will be ready in 25 minutes!” So, during that excess period of time, we lost three dates in Anna Crumb, Leonie Geyer and Laura Hahnefeldt. Hunger defeated the three of them. The remaining group of sushi lovers made it downtown by 9:15pm and was thrilled to eat delicious, half-price sushi. However, it was all too good to be true and we were turned away by not one, but two separate sushi joints. We were too late, even though the kitchen technically didn't close for another 15 minutes. So, with Ireland natives, Liz (McInerney) and her sister, Roisin, in the group, we decided to try the Irish Pub around the corner, instead. It turned out to be a great evening… Sophia (Openshaw) and I enjoyed fish and chips; while Rachel Sayer, Adrian (Chambers) and Liz (McInerney) dabbled in other foods, none of them the least bit authentic Irish.
It was a fairly late night, but with school tomorrow and our minds looking ahead to this tough weekend of back-to-back games against University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University, we realized it would be yet another week until we could have an adventurous night such as this. We analyzed video of the two teams, and after tweaking our corners and doing other drills at practice on Tuesday, we know we will be prepared as we head to the sweltering South. Syracuse is already getting so cold that I actually think we'll enjoy the heat down there…but we'll enjoy it much more if we walk away with two wins.
Keep reading next week to see what truly happens on away trips and see how our battles went against the #2 and #11 teams in the nation. Go 'Cuse!
