The 2016 USTA National Collegiate Women's Team kicked off the summer by gathering in Charleston, S.C., this week to attend a collegiate training camp. The eight-member team includes recently crowned NCAA women's singles champion Danielle Collins of Virginia, Hayley Carter of North Carolina, Maegan Manasse of Cal, Kennedy Shaffer of Georgia, Frances Altick of Vanderbilt, Brienne Minor of Michigan, Ronit Yurovsky of Michigan and Francesca Di Lorenzo of Ohio State. Next week, the women will travel to Sumter, S.C., to compete at the Palmetto Pro Open, a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event.
Michigan players Minor and Yurovsky are blogging this week from Charleston, and in their first entry, talk about their first day of training, a visit to a local children's hospital and more.
Wednesday, June 8
Hey everyone! It’s Ro and Bri here, coming at you live from Charleston, S.C.! We are so excited to be part of Team USA, but we are even more excited that we get to share our experience at the collegiate national camp!
When we first arrived in Charleston, we got settled in and met the rest of the girls. The first day mostly consisted of getting to know the team and our coaches. We had the opportunity to visit MUSC Children Hospital, where we got to do some arts and crafts with the kids. It was an awesome experience not only for us but the children, as well. Later that day we had some team bonding over dinner and, lucky enough, the bonding continued when we attended the Ellie Goulding concert. Little did we know that Hayley Carter could bust out some serious dance moves that put us all to shame! After an amazing concert, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for an early day the next day.
Waking up in the morning, we thought, “How could today possibly be any better than yesterday?” But we were surprisingly proved wrong. The day started off with a great morning hit, where we were divided into pairs and began with some consistency and placement drills. Ironically, we were partners, which made it hard to resist yelling out, “Go Blue!” But that didn’t stop us from cheering for each other. After our two-hour hit, we cooled down and did some mental training with Dr. [Larry] Lauer [USTA Mental Skills Specialist] while also enjoying some lunch. The break didn’t last much longer, as we were back on the court for our second hit.
The afternoon hit focused more on specific aspects of our game. During this hit, it really started to feel like a team environment with us girls, which made it more fun, knowing we were all making each other better. After our hit, it was time for some fitness, and our awesome strength and conditioning coaches, Jen Fallon and Satoshi Ochi, took us to the field. As Satoshi mentioned, “Today is field day.” We all looked around at each other and thought, “Oh, boy.” However, with the support and encouragement from one another, we were able to finish strong. .
The day wasn’t quite over yet. After a long day of practicing and conditioning, it was time to fuel our bodies. We had a Team USA dinner at Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar, which we must say was delicious. After a fun dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest and get ready for another solid day of practicing.
Hope everyone enjoyed Day 1 of our experience here in Charleston!
Ro and Bri