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 Senior Arlan Whittle submits her first NCAA Tournament blog. |
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Nov. 13, 2008
I remember earlier this year, in the end of January, we had to run sprints outside at 6 a.m. in the morning. It was so cold the ground was frozen. Hilary [Holder] showed up in tennis shoes because she didn't know that we were supposed to wear our cleats. That was the first day of spring season; the first day of our preparation for this year.
The entire spring we had to wake up early to run and lift. Sometimes we had activities twice a day. But we all pushed through those mornings and two-a-days because we believed that we were doing what was needed to in order to win a championship in the fall. And, in fact, it was.
Last weekend was so exciting. All of our hard work had finally paid off. We started off with a few setbacks, but we kept moving forward and making "baby steps" as [Head coach] Tammy [DeCesare] calls them and improving each game.
We beat UNC-Greensboro, who was undefeated. Everyone played a part in that game. We did so well, and I hope that we all bring that same passion in our game against UNC-Chapel Hill. Tammy has prepared us well for this game, and we are all excited to finally play.
I can't believe that Buki [Baruwa] and I are getting another chance to play UNC-Chapel Hill in our careers at Western. I remember as a freshman being so nervous before playing them, but now I am ready.
This year we have 12 freshmen on the team. In 2005, we had two. Buki and I were pretty quiet that year, but the freshmen this year are pretty rowdy. They sang the whole way home from dinner. Buki and I would never have done that.
The team has been so fun and awesome. We are excited to play UNC-Chapel Hill. The majority of the team has never been here. Fetzer Field is nice, but not any better than the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Tomorrow afternoon can't come soon enough. We are ready to play and, hopefully, "SHOCK the nation!"
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