Written by Claire Urchell

MARCH 1-MARCH 7, 2020- After weeks of late-night practices and hard work, the week the lady cougars have been looking forward to, arrived. The week was filled with excitement as there were only two late-night practices left, the first games of the season against Lake Forest on Thursday, and the team left for the beautiful Clermont, Florida on Friday.

From the freshman stepping onto the field in the Cougar jersey for the first time to the seniors beginning their last season, the whole roster was filled with butterflies and excitement. The week started out with their normal schedules that included hitting and late-night practice along with homework and extracurriculars. Wednesday included a small practice in the gym in the afternoon and a team conversation about the schedule for the week, more specifically, the games against Lake Forest, the following day. Thursday included two games against the Foresters but ended up losing both games.

Many of the women on the team had not started packing, so as soon as they arrived back at school, they started to do laundry and pack what they could before going to sleep. The team arrived in the gym the next afternoon, some filled with excitement and some with nerves as it was their first time flying.

After arriving at the airport, they checked their bags and while some found the gate for the flight, others found some caffeine for the late-night flight. Some slept on the plane because they knew it was going to be a late-night with an early call-time for practice the next morning, while others decided to start on some homework their professors assigned over Spring Break or relax and catch up on some Netflix.

Practice on Saturday was filled with hard work, working on defensive situations and communication, but also finished with some fun with a game that the coaching staff created. After practice, the team grabbed lunch at one of their favorite places and headed back to the resort for some relaxation at the pool and to rest up for the exciting week.