Northwestern University Athletics
Diary From Down Under - Erin Larner
1/3/2018 3:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Northwestern's women's tennis team is in the midst of a foreign tour of Australia. Senior Erin Larner checks in with an update on the team's competitions, sight-seeing and what the Wildcats did to ring in the New Year.
Day 2 - December 30
Lee's Birthday!!!
We started off the morning with a match against the Brisbane Team. Although it was morning time, it was still quite hot and humid. It was played as a traditional dual match lay out with lots of W's going to the 'Cats. After over a month off from matches, it was good to get some point play in against new and different opponents. In the post match recap, Claire, Julian and Dané were all very positive and had lots of good takeaways for everyone. We quickly showered, stretched and were off to be tourists in the beach town of Noosa.
Dané showed us around her family's favorite beach vacation town of Noosa. When Dané's van that included most of the girls on the team got out, they each had painted their faces with bright neon yellow zinc instead of sunscreen. However, we all quickly realized how nerdy we looked when everyone on the beach kept turning their heads looking at the touristy Americans! We continued the afternoon with swimming in some big Australian waves, taking a hike with some breathtaking views, and Lee's birthday dinner. After a day full of tennis, sun, and fun everyone was pretty wiped out and we headed back to Brisbane to get some sleep before the next day's adventures.
Day 3 - December 31
We started off the morning with practice first thing. After getting in a solid workout and hit, we were off to watch the professional tournament taking place in town, Brisbane International. Here we saw our LA to Brisbane flight buddy, Garbiñe Muguruza, practicing, and watched both men's and women's singles matches that afternoon. We had about an hour of free time before we began New Year's Eve festivities in which we had a quick dinner and then went to the river and watched some phenomenal fireworks being set off over the river. The fireworks were coordinated with music and each girl enjoyed the songs by singing and watching the display in awe. Rheeya, Lee and I even made the news belting out some Ed Sheeran lyrics. Some of the girls then stayed up for the fireworks at midnight to officially ring in 2018, but the grandmas, aka seniors Maddie, Chatt, and I, all were first to go to sleep following the fireworks.
Day 4 - January 1
TANGALOOMA ISLAND!!! This day we took a ferry across to Tangalooma Island to have our off day. Here we were met with clear blue skies and crystal blue water. Upon arriving on the island we had a quick lunch and then went out on a glass bottom boat to see some of the sea life and tour around the island. On this ride we saw sea turtles, lots of fish, and a few dolphins. Following the ride we then had beach time. Since it was quite warm we all immediately went into the ocean and attempted to snorkel. Somehow we all ended up having chicken fights: newbies vs. returners. Although the newbies started off strong winning the first few rounds, Maddie and Rheeya were ultimately victorious representing the returners well. Rheeya then lost in beach tennis though and had to do some burpees…but hey you win some and you lose some, I guess. Following the beach fun, half of the team went with Dané to a sand dune that could only be described as the mountain of death from the videos and pictures I saw. I didn't join them on this trek, but the view looked amazing from the photos. As if the beach day wasn't amazing already, we all then got to finish off the night by feeding dolphins! We then headed back on the ferry and went to catch some sleep in Brisbane before our final full day there.
Day 5 - January 2
We left first thing in the morning to get a nice quick workout and hit in before our afternoon match against Bond University. Following our hit we went straight to the university where we ran into the Stanford men's tennis team who was also playing against Bond University and doing a foreign tour trip. The Stanford team, Bond team, and our team then all had lunch together in the athletic facility and had a great view of the big screens that had the playoff football games on. Newbie and sophomore transfer Julie Byrne was extremely excited because she got to watch her old school, Oklahoma, play but unfortunately for her, they ended up losing. Right as the game finished in overtime, we then headed to the courts to go play our match. Although we finished doubles, a few of the girls were still playing when we had to stop due to a storm full of thunder, lightning, and lots of rain. Never fear, though, Julian was ready as ever to lead us through a thorough workout session indoors to cap off the afternoon. Following all the athletic activities was our evening activity which was truly one of a kind.
Thanks to Dané's fabulous planning skills, we got to experience the Outback! We went to a place called the Outback Spectacular Show. Upon entering the building, we all were given cowboy hats and felt like we were in a western country scene. We took our seats and tried to figure out what was in store for us besides dinner. The show featured so many aspects such as men standing on two horses, acrobatics, people singing and acting, and cows coming out into the ring. We learned a lot about the Outback of Australia from this experience and got a good show and food out of the deal too! We then got back to the hotel pretty late and had to pack before we left first thing in the morning for the airport.
Day 6 - January 3
This morning we are headed off to the airport to fly to Sydney! Bright and early wake up call, but super excited to explore the next city!
That's all for now, Go 'Cats from Down Under!
Day 2 - December 30
Lee's Birthday!!!
We started off the morning with a match against the Brisbane Team. Although it was morning time, it was still quite hot and humid. It was played as a traditional dual match lay out with lots of W's going to the 'Cats. After over a month off from matches, it was good to get some point play in against new and different opponents. In the post match recap, Claire, Julian and Dané were all very positive and had lots of good takeaways for everyone. We quickly showered, stretched and were off to be tourists in the beach town of Noosa.
Dané showed us around her family's favorite beach vacation town of Noosa. When Dané's van that included most of the girls on the team got out, they each had painted their faces with bright neon yellow zinc instead of sunscreen. However, we all quickly realized how nerdy we looked when everyone on the beach kept turning their heads looking at the touristy Americans! We continued the afternoon with swimming in some big Australian waves, taking a hike with some breathtaking views, and Lee's birthday dinner. After a day full of tennis, sun, and fun everyone was pretty wiped out and we headed back to Brisbane to get some sleep before the next day's adventures.
Day 3 - December 31
We started off the morning with practice first thing. After getting in a solid workout and hit, we were off to watch the professional tournament taking place in town, Brisbane International. Here we saw our LA to Brisbane flight buddy, Garbiñe Muguruza, practicing, and watched both men's and women's singles matches that afternoon. We had about an hour of free time before we began New Year's Eve festivities in which we had a quick dinner and then went to the river and watched some phenomenal fireworks being set off over the river. The fireworks were coordinated with music and each girl enjoyed the songs by singing and watching the display in awe. Rheeya, Lee and I even made the news belting out some Ed Sheeran lyrics. Some of the girls then stayed up for the fireworks at midnight to officially ring in 2018, but the grandmas, aka seniors Maddie, Chatt, and I, all were first to go to sleep following the fireworks.
Day 4 - January 1
TANGALOOMA ISLAND!!! This day we took a ferry across to Tangalooma Island to have our off day. Here we were met with clear blue skies and crystal blue water. Upon arriving on the island we had a quick lunch and then went out on a glass bottom boat to see some of the sea life and tour around the island. On this ride we saw sea turtles, lots of fish, and a few dolphins. Following the ride we then had beach time. Since it was quite warm we all immediately went into the ocean and attempted to snorkel. Somehow we all ended up having chicken fights: newbies vs. returners. Although the newbies started off strong winning the first few rounds, Maddie and Rheeya were ultimately victorious representing the returners well. Rheeya then lost in beach tennis though and had to do some burpees…but hey you win some and you lose some, I guess. Following the beach fun, half of the team went with Dané to a sand dune that could only be described as the mountain of death from the videos and pictures I saw. I didn't join them on this trek, but the view looked amazing from the photos. As if the beach day wasn't amazing already, we all then got to finish off the night by feeding dolphins! We then headed back on the ferry and went to catch some sleep in Brisbane before our final full day there.
Day 5 - January 2
We left first thing in the morning to get a nice quick workout and hit in before our afternoon match against Bond University. Following our hit we went straight to the university where we ran into the Stanford men's tennis team who was also playing against Bond University and doing a foreign tour trip. The Stanford team, Bond team, and our team then all had lunch together in the athletic facility and had a great view of the big screens that had the playoff football games on. Newbie and sophomore transfer Julie Byrne was extremely excited because she got to watch her old school, Oklahoma, play but unfortunately for her, they ended up losing. Right as the game finished in overtime, we then headed to the courts to go play our match. Although we finished doubles, a few of the girls were still playing when we had to stop due to a storm full of thunder, lightning, and lots of rain. Never fear, though, Julian was ready as ever to lead us through a thorough workout session indoors to cap off the afternoon. Following all the athletic activities was our evening activity which was truly one of a kind.
Thanks to Dané's fabulous planning skills, we got to experience the Outback! We went to a place called the Outback Spectacular Show. Upon entering the building, we all were given cowboy hats and felt like we were in a western country scene. We took our seats and tried to figure out what was in store for us besides dinner. The show featured so many aspects such as men standing on two horses, acrobatics, people singing and acting, and cows coming out into the ring. We learned a lot about the Outback of Australia from this experience and got a good show and food out of the deal too! We then got back to the hotel pretty late and had to pack before we left first thing in the morning for the airport.
Day 6 - January 3
This morning we are headed off to the airport to fly to Sydney! Bright and early wake up call, but super excited to explore the next city!
That's all for now, Go 'Cats from Down Under!
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