University of Houston Athletics
Making a Racquet - Vol. 4
1/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
(Editor's Note: "Making a Racquet" is written by senior women's tennis player Charlotte Phillips, who is interning with the Houston Athletics Communications department this semester. Throughout the season, Charlotte will provide a behind-the-scenes look into the Cougar tennis program, including practice stories, match recaps, interesting anecdotes and notes from the road. Today's entry reflects on Houston's trip to the ITA Weekend Kickoff in College Station.)
VOLUME IV - JAN. 27, 2015
 | ON THE ROAD |
It was a mixed weekend for the Cougars, as we had our first road trip of the season to College Station for the ITA Weekend Kickoff. Luckily, it was only an hour and half drive away which was a nice short journey for a change, especially considering the size of the Texas!
We started the weekend by taking on the Horned Frogs from TCU, which saw us suffer a disappointing 4-0 loss. Despite the score, we were all ahead in the matches that were yet to be finished and with one more win, the match could have easily been the other way around.
We brushed off the negatives and began to focus on Sunday's match against North Texas. Saturday night was a relaxed evening for us where we ate at Pei Wei, and chicken sesame and rice proved to be the favourite yet again - it must be some sort of superstition!
We woke on Sunday after a restful night and the Hilton hotel provided us with a champion's breakfast filled with fresh fruit and eggs, although sadly the pancakes and waffles were not an option for us! We relaxed until our match at 3 p.m., catching up on homework and passing the time watching some inspiring matches from the Australian Open in Melbourne. For our pre-match lunch, we headed to Pita Pit, one of our favourites when we are on the road since we do not have one here in Houston, and it certainly filled us up with enough fuel to keep us going throughout the afternoon!
After a strong warm-up, we were ready and focused to take on girls in green from North Texas. After a slow start from Maria and myself in doubles, Elena and Rocio quickly turned it around to 1-1 just before Mina and Debbie closed out a win to gain us the doubles point.
It was now down to the singles, and we needed just three wins to get us the victory overall. North Texas started with a win on court five but Debbie bounced back from a first set defeat to dominate the next two sets, 6-0 and 6-1. North Texas then got another win on court three, levelling the overall score to an exciting 2-2. With an aggressive win from Elena on court two, it was down to myself and Mina to battle it out for the fourth point for the Cougars.
There's something about playing a match when it is down to that one match. When your teammates are screaming for you and cheering you on in every point, nothing else matters, except what happens on that court there and then. As Mina and myself were both on the court next to each other, we could see each other fighting hard in the third sets whilst we cheered on for another.
Suddenly, as I heard a loud "Come on!!!" from Mina, the freshman got the win for the Cougars. As we had a result, the match was stopped there and then. I was a bit disappointed, having come back from 5-3 down in the third set of my singles match and was now serving at 5-4 down. With the momentum and the girls cheering with me, I was confident I could close it out and get the win, but most importantly our team was able to earn the victory.
It's these hard-fought, nail-biting and gripping matches that make college tennis so exciting for the players, coaches and spectators.
Our next road trip (this time a little further afield) is to New Mexico, where we go up against the Lobos then onto Arizona to take on the Wildcats. Keep tuning in to see what we get up to when we're on the road!
Charlotte
Players Mentioned
