Northwestern University Athletics

maeve nelson walk-off

"This is Who We Are" - By Sydney Supple

2/22/2022 9:15:00 AM | Softball

Moments such as this are why you play the game…
 


Before I go into detail, I want to make one point clear. We turned a lot of heads this weekend. Announcers went on about how we "surprised" the country and suddenly our team was the talk of every broadcast. The reality is this does not come as a shocking upset to us. This is what we have been training for the past six months. Our team came to Clearwater expecting to compete and believing we would win. 

The ranked wins we have accumulated so far are possible because we started creating the narrative of our story back in September. As we ran our half gassers in the dead of winter, we were motivated by listing the opponents we would see in season and pushed harder.

While others saw it as a surprise this is what we have been picturing in our minds for months. 

The only emotion we felt this weekend was pure excitement. Now back to the special moment you watched captured on video. The rush to home plate and being pushed back and forth between my jumping and screaming teammates as Maeve Nelson ran into our twenty open arms, it was easy to feel overcome with emotion of love for this team. For all eight innings and even when we were down to our final out, we kept believing in each other. The message our team received from the coaching staff before the game was, "you do not need to be perfect to win this game, you have to be the tougher team."  The tougher team is what we were.

Clearwater was an incredible opportunity for our team to face four talented teams. We walked away 3-1 on the weekend, with two great ranked wins but in no way satisfied, we wanted four. The hunger I saw my teammates leave the complex with is real and it shows me how this is only the beginning for us with how much everyone is ready to work for more. Our desire is bigger than ever. People can call us the "surprise" team this past weekend if they want but we are ready to show again next weekend that this was no surprise, this is who we are. 

Sincerely,
Sydney Supple #26
 
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