Water Polo at the NCAA Championship - Final Preparations
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Water Polo
Final Preparations
THURSDAY, MAY 7 -- Day 2
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Our second day at the NCAA Championship was much lower key. We woke up and got bagels and muffins before heading to the pool for an hour-long closed practice at the Eppley Recreation Center. We swam a few laps, passed and worked on a few things before hopping out of the pool. Sticking around on Maryland's campus, we went and ate at their equivalent of the Michigan Union for lunch. With an entire afternoon free, the team decided to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie and the restful afternoon. The evening brought us back to the Maryland campus for the annual NCAA Championship banquet. After eating a pretty delicious meal, we heard speeches from former USA National Team coach Guy Baker and a senior from each team. The U-M representative was Julie Hyrne. Here is the text of the speech that she delivered masterfully:
"Good evening. On behalf of the University of Michigan, I would like to thank the NCAA for allowing us to compete this weekend and the University of Maryland for hosting the event.
"I just finished my senior year at Michigan. Graduating brought back a lot of memories and emotions for all of the seniors. It made us reflect back on the past four years and why we came to the University of Michigan. I am originally from Northern California and I remember one year watching a college tournament at Stanford and thinking that the Michigan girls were some of the pastiest, whitest people I had ever seen and that the cow bell was extremely unnecessary. Why would anyone ever go there
"Well, my senior year of high school I went on a recruiting trip to Michigan and, honestly, I didnt think I would ever end up there. When I landed in Detroit, I was excited to catch my first glimpse of snow. However, once I stepped outside, I took one breath of the freezing air and just about turned around to catch the first flight back to San Jose. Fortunately, I decided to give Michigan one more shot. On my trip, I fell in love with the campus and the Michigan tradition. I went home knowing that Michigan was the right choice for me.
"I know many of my fellow seniors shared this same initial Michigan experience. We came to Michigan to help build a program and, reflecting back on this, think we were successful. We came in with a freshman class of 21 with only eight returning upperclassmen. Although the first two years definitely had their ups and downs, the hard work has truly paid off as we have had the privilege of playing for one of the most successful water polo teams in Michigan history.
"Coming in as a freshman, I thought that our win-loss record and NCAA appearances were what was most important. However, as I leave, I have realized that the friendships that I have created and the time I have spent with my team is what I treasure most. I have always said there is a difference between a friend and a teammate and when I leave the team in a week, I can honestly say that I am leaving behind 23 friends.
"We have all been a part of teams with drama and division, but until now, I have never been a part of a team as united as ours. Winning our regional tournament not only provided us with a bid to the national championship, but it gave us two more weeks as a team. Ladies, it has been a privilege being your teammate the past four years and playing for the University of Michigan.
"Thank you. Good luck this weekend, and as always, Go Blue!"
Arriving in the Nation's Capitol
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 -- Day 1
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The first day of this year's trip to the NCAA Championship began bright and early at the Varsity Tennis Center. After a fond farewell from Morgan Turner, the team set off on its journey. A quick flight of just under an hour and we were in the nation's capitol. The itinerary for the trip was blank between landing in Washington, D.C., and our scheduled practice at 8 p.m. Matt (Anderson) had kept a tight lid on what he had planned for the team, though a rumor that we would be going on a boat tour through the streets of the city was gaining traction. The rumor mill was wrong -- we headed to Arlington National Cemetery. We followed the footpaths to the eternal flame at John F. Kennedy's gravesite, saw statues erected to honor Civil War soldiers and witnessed a changing of the guard and wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Our tour concluded with a trip through Robert E. Lee's house -- a personal favorite of history buff Julie Hyrne -- and we set off to eat. After lunch, we opted to move our practice to an earlier time and headed straight for the pool. All three coaches -- Matt, Katie (Card) and Theo (Ludwick) -- got in the pool and passed the ball around with the groups. Matt got into a group with Julie and Leah (Robertson). We piled back into the vans after practice and headed for the hotel. After settling in for a bit, we ate dinner at the team-favorite Cheesecake Factory before calling it a day.
