Northwestern University Athletics
SERVE AND VOLLEY Makes Its Debut
1/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2010
Throughout their careers, Northwestern seniors Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray have been two of the driving forces behind NU's rise to the level of perennial powerhouse. During their final go-rounds with the Wildcats, "Speeds" and Sam will keep NU fans current on the program's latest happenings in their blog, "Serve and Volley," which debuts today on NUsports.com.
Speeds provides our first entry of the 2010 season with Northwestern preparing to begin its title defense of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.
Hey Wildcat Fans,
I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! This season, my fellow senior Samantha Murray and I will be sharing with you all the stories, events, and happenings of the Northwestern women's tennis team. Firstly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Lauren but everyone calls me Speeds. At first, you might think my teammates call me Speeds because of my lightning speed on the court but it's not (sad, I know). It all started freshman year when everyone on the team made fun of me because I walked REALLY slow. I'm sorry but in Texas (I'm from Houston), we don't walk. We drive everywhere, so all this walking was new to me. But I'm happy to report that three years later, I've increased my pace to what I think is normal walking speed.
Back to tennis. This year we have three talented freshmen who joined the Wildcat family. They are a lot of fun and bring new energy to our team. We have Kate Turvy who we call Topsy because of the ridiculous amounts of spin she puts on the ball. Next, we have Linda Abu Mushrefova who we call "LA" because her last name is just too long to shout. Lastly, we have Brittany Wowchuk who we call "WOWchuk" because of the bombs she hits at her opponents. All of you guys should come out and see these freshmen in action. They're a crazy bunch and they aren't afraid to show it.
Last week, we kicked off the season against William and Mary. The Tribe fought hard and gave it their all, but the 'Cats were too much and prevailed 7-0. It was great for the young ones to get their first dual match under their belt. I remember how nervous I was coming in as a freshman and I bet they were feeling it a little too. It's funny how as a senior you would think you wouldn't get nervous anymore since you've played so many dual matches in your career, but we do. It happens to the best of us! Dual season is probably the best part of my year. I love it!
So this weekend we host the first and second rounds of the ITA National Indoor Team Championship. We play Old Dominion on Saturday (10 a.m.) and a second match on Sunday versus Princeton or Denver. It should be a great weekend of tennis. I hope those of you who live nearby will come out and support us! It will be a lot of fun!
On an ending note, I will leave you with one entertaining story that occurred a couple of weeks ago. Kate is going to kill me, but it's just too good to not share. So during the Wildcat Invite, one day we had to get to SPAC at 7:45 in the morning to get ready for our matches and to eat some breakfast in our locker room. Claire (Pollard, our head coach) brings us bagels and cream cheese. We're all gathered around in the locker room doing our own thing when I see Kate with a fork. All of a sudden this smell permeates throughout the locker room. Then I realize Kate (a true freshman) is eating beef with broccoli from one of our favorite Chinese restaurants at 7:45 in the morning. I couldn't believe it! I mean I love Chinese food but at this time in the day... Her only response to me was: "Bagels aren't sufficient enough." Chinese food, the breakfast of champions!
GO CATS!!!
Speeds
