Hey Wildcats!
I apologize for my unscheduled break from the blog – conference games really got on top of me and somehow the blog took a backseat. For those of you who haven’t heard, our season ended on Easter weekend with great wins against La Salle on Friday and VMI on Saturday. And while we did our absolute best in both of these games, we came up just short of making the MAAC championship tournament, which was our original goal for the season. Regardless of the outcome, I am so extremely proud of our team and all the work we put in to get there.
So, this being my last blog, I figured I would share a reflection about the team and program that has been home to me for the past four years. One thing that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these last couple weeks is the fact that when you’re a freshman, you have no idea what your team is going to look like when you’re a senior. You can’t even begin to fathom a team with only your own classmates and without any of the upperclassmen. And one thing is for sure: I could never, in my wildest dreams, have dreamt up a team like this one. The support, the friendship, the sense of belonging, and so much more that I have gotten from this team is absolutely invaluable to me. I do not think that I will ever be able to write or capture all the ways this team has made Villanova home or made me who I am today.
Being a college athlete is not easy; in one of our many conference room meetings, Coach told us, “If this was easy, there would be many more people in this room right now”. And it’s not always easy, I can confidently say the parts of being on the team that I love greatly outweigh the things that I didn’t love. While I didn’t love waking up early for lifts, I did love cheering each other on while we lifted heavier than the previous week. While I did not always love those final hours on the bus on the way back from VMI, I did love the way we always managed to end up laughing and joking no matter how long the ride. While there were days where the first dive into the water was so daunting, I did love the competition and camaraderie in the pool with my best friends. I did love all the “nice shot”s and “good block”s that echoed around during warm up shooting. I did love the pre-practice chatting, whether it was about MAAC standings or whether Emily would glide or sink if she jumped in the pool on a boogie board. I love every way the team evolved into something that I could not have seen coming.
To my team: it has been an honor and privilege to be your teammate, captain and friend. It has been an honor and a privilege to compete with you, to win and lose with you. I am struck now by just how much of an honor and privilege it was to do all the little things with you. Splitting a lane, reviewing plays, locking up in center, game warm up, high fives after goals, throwing lacrosse balls into softball mitts, trying to juggle, center work in the shallow end, racing to the corner, birthday dances, and every moment in between. I could never put into words my love for you all. I know your future is incredibly bright (in and out of the pool) and I can’t wait to follow along and see where you go in the years to come.
