NCAA Spring Festival Blog: Day Two
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Sophomore Paola Cigui recaps day two of the CSU women's tennis team's trip to Louisville, KY, site of the NCAA Division II Spring Festival. Cigui, a native of Italy, is in her first season at Columbus State and is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation in singles.
Louisville Day 2: Practice Day
Tuesday, May 15 was our second day in Louisville. We woke up early for practice in order to be used to the early match that we would expect the next day. After a good breakfast, we went to the courts in E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, a very nice and peaceful tennis center with 12 courts surrounded by pines and nice prairies. After the practice we went to eat and wander on Fourth Street of Louisville, exploring the beauty and natural accuracy of Louisville dowtown.
In the afternoon, Milica [Tomic], Renata [Paiva], Andrea [Redrado] and I decided to practice again, mostly to get used to the faster courts in E. P. Tom Sawyer and to achieve the best shape for the next day, the day we start our matches. We had the opportunity to see the tennis center where our assistant coach Eva [Hunning] spent two years of her college career. In fact, she showed us a very nice facility with indoor tennis courts and a players lounge with a view on the indoor courts. Even though we found the whole complex amazing, we still prefer our simple CSU, hopefully with some new additional tennis lounges in the near future.
At the same time Sandra [Jung], Olivera [Jokic] and Caro [Carolin Weikard]preferred to go to the gym and work out a little bit on their physical condition. It showed how every one of us has different needs and it was very helpful to invest this time in the activities that every one of us prefers to do, either on the tennis courts, in the gym, or simply resting.
In the night we enjoyed an amazing dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe´ of Louisville. In the middle of dinner we noticed that we were sitting right next to our future opponents- the 22nd ranked Lewis University. This was also our last thought of the night- we were sure that with the same energies that we showed at the regionals and a good dose of determination, the first round of nationals will be a guaranteed success for the Lady Cougars. At the same time we also knew that the only way to achieve the victory will be with a lot of fighting.
Fight for each other, to prove that we deserve to win. Fight for the coaches that always support us and give us the possibility to experience college tennis. Fight for our families that are enjoying and in a certain way, sharing with us every success. Every one of us can fight for a dear person in our heart, a relative, a close friend, a coach, someone who we love and who gives us trust and belief.
Tennis is one of those sports where our mood can definitively respect our performances. A general sense of well-being and satisfaction in life are always influencing positively the athletes, giving us confidence and positivity. At the same time it's impossible to leave frustration and problems in life outside of the tennis courts, both in practice or during matches.
In an ironic way, life and tennis can be connected with each other. As Andre Agassi wrote in his auto-biography: "It's no accident, I think, that tennis uses the language of life. Advantage service, fault, break, love, the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature."
After an amazing second day in Kentucky, the Lady Cougars are ready for the first round of the national championships. Here we go Lady Cougs!!
