Another day down...

Another day in Louisville folks and I guess I just think it is time to get this thing started.  Lets play some tennis.  Of course, with our starting time of 5pm, which could be delayed, who knows if we will get on the courts at all.  I guess we could shorten the NCAA sanctioned 15 minute pre-match warm-up if we need to.

We had a nice day touring the area and learning a bit about legendary explorers Lewis and Clark and also York.  Also, over to Panera for lunch and a team's worth of cinnamon rolls.  We did indeed venture over to the Tom Sawyer courts for a 3pm practice.  However, the site is a bit of a hike from the hotel...not particularly ideal honestly.  As luck would have it, the NCAA actually let our entire team party of 11 step foot onto the site.  That is a win for sure.

The fellas look pretty solid and ready to battle versus Grand Canyon University.  I had a chance to watch our opponents play as they were also practicing at Tom Sawyer.  They looked very strong to me and this will certainly be a tough match.  I would not be surprised to see a 5-4 either way.  The one difficulty is that there are no lights at the site and given our late starting time, I worry that we may not get the match finished before darkness.  Who knows, maybe it won't be what I expect.

We crossed the Ohio river to Indiana for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse as per the players wishes.  Of course, after steak the night before, I was not ready to stomach another slab of cow.  Thus, I had the shrimp and a delicious sweet potato.  Not bad.

We had a brief team meeting to remind the players of what to expect and then off to the hotel atrium again for some mingling.  We were blessed by a cameo guest appearance by NCAA National Women's Coach of the Year Simon Earnshaw from Armstrong Atlantic.  Simon is always good for a good story or two and many laughs.  He has done a great job this year and really deserves any recognition available.  I can only hope that some day I am able to figure out how to achieve such success and how to distribute the "bags of cash".

Well it is definitely bed time for Bonzo.  Of course, I really do not need to rise early as I do not need to adhere to the NCAA breakfast schedule as I am still not credentialed.  However, I need some rest and I would like to get to the hotel gym tomorrow.  I may have to go to the ATM though as the Galt House hotel actually charges a daily or weekly fee to use the facilities...a great policy for an athletic national championship event full of athletes don't you think?

I look forward to the arrival of Ivan and Kathy of our Concordia athletic administration.  They are so helpful to us and really add to our chances of winning matches down here.  We will see them tomorrow.

Nuff said...