Back to Back Titles!

We did it again in Hilton Head! It was another great week for us and I really enjoyed every minute of it! A BIG shout-out to Kristy, you’re awesome! 🙂 It’s not every week that we get to play at such an amazing place. Pat Van Der Meer, Jim, and the whole Van Der Meer Tennis Academy were so welcoming and made sure everything was perfect for the players. I loved my week here, and I’m definitely looking forward to returning. ♡☀

We took the title!

We did it! Kristy and I won the doubles title in Sumter, SC! We defeated the #1 seeded team 6-4, 6-3. I definitely feel like we played our best match of the week, and that’s always good to do in a final. We had great chemistry out there on the court, served really well and moved aggressively around the net, which I think made the difference for us.

Sumter was great to me this past week, but I’m off to Hilton Head, SC! I love Hilton Head and have played there many times, always with good success! 🙂 The tournament is held at Van Der Meer Tennis Academy, which is a really nice place to play. I’ll be playing singles and teaming up with Kristy again for doubles, can’t wait!

Into the Final in Sumter, SC

Hi everyone! I’m in Sumter, SC and I’ve made it to my first final of the year, woo hoo! Kristy Frilling is my partner this week, and I love playing with her. She’s an awesome girl and I feel like we mesh really well as a team. Plus, we have fun on the court which actually really helps with problem solving and handling adversity throughout a match. 

Yesterday, we had a great come-from-behind win in probably the windiest conditions I’ve ever played doubles in. There were some interesting shots, and it wasn’t always the prettiest tennis, but sometimes that’s what it takes to get it done! The final score was 2-6, 7-5, 10-6. We had a day off today, so we just finished a good day of practice in preparation for our final tomorrow.

On a side note, this is the first week that I am wearing the new summer collection from my clothing sponsor, Eliza Audley. I adore bright colors so I’m super thrilled that Eliza went with that this season, it’s chock-full of coral, orange, and yellow. ♥☼

See you tomorrow!

Great Week in Raleigh!

Hello everyone!! 

I’m sorry for not keeping up with my blog very well, but I can promise you that my updates will be much more consistent from now on. I just finished up a great week at the $25,000 Raleigh Challenger in Raleigh, NC. My partner and good friend from the US, Asia Muhammad and I reached the doubles final! Unfortunately we lost in a 3rd set tie-breaker to the #2 seeded Canadian team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Marie-Eve Pelletier, but whenever you are playing on the final Sunday of a tournament, it can definitely be considered a success! 

 

In singles this week, I drew my doubles partner, Asia in the first round! (The “Draw Gods” work in mysterious ways, haha) After a 4 1/2 hour battler, I came out the winner 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4. It’s always hard to play against a friend but it’s something that every player has to encounter throughout her career. I lost in the Round of 16 to the eventual singles Runner-Up and #3 seed, Tamaryn Hendler (BEL). She played very solidly, and was just too tough. 

 

Next week I am playing a $10,000 event in Landisville, PA. I will be the #1 seed in Singles there and will be playing doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN). I’m excited to get back on the hard courts!!

1 Win, 1 Loss

Hey everyone!! Sorry I didn’t write last night…but I’m here now to report to you guys! I won my singles match 6-1, 6-4…I played great and even though I was down a break of serve twice in the 2nd set, I was able to break right back each time and not let my opponent gain any momentum. The court was playing very slippery yesterday too…so that was another aspect to contend with. So, I was definitely happy with my mental performance as well. Unfortunately we lost in doubles to a very talented team…they played very well so hats off to them. Tomorrow I play a girl from Canada who I know fairly well even though I have never played against her. I’m excited to get out there and keep this ball rolling!

3 Down!!

Hi everyone! I won my match today 6-1, 6-2. I played really well and executed my game plan right from the start, so my coach and I were both really happy. Since I was first match on at 10:00 this morning, we were able to have a nice, relaxing afternoon…we went to that diner I told you about yesterday, The Remedy Diner. OMG, sooo incredibly delicious!! I had the Tempeh Reuben with Mock Chicken Dill Soup and my coach, Scott had the Portobello Burger with red peppers and onions and a side of potato salad. I tried some of his as well (couldn’t resist! LOL). Everything was amazing and I’m sure I’ll be going back. The only downfall was the fact that they were out of vegan chocolate cake..Arrgghh!! Haha.

Tomorrow I’m first on at 10:00 again against a girl from Great Britain whom I haven’t faced before, but since I feel that I’m playing better and better with every match, there’s no reason why we can’t keep that trend going tomorrow, right? 🙂 Later tomorrow afternoon I have doubles as well, so definitely a busy day…I’m sitting here, hydrating with my coconut water as I’m typing this LOL. Early morning again tomorrow so I’m going to get myself ready to go to sleep. I’ll be back to update you guys tomorrow…hopefully I’ll have a double-victory to report! In the meantime…here’s an action shot from today.

This was obviously an ace!! 🙂

Update…with action shots!

Hey there! I won my match today 7-5, 6-2. Even though it was only a two-set match, it was a tough fight under really hot and sunny conditions…so I’m definitely glad I had my coconut water with me! (The absolute best hydrator in my opinion). After my match I got in a little bit of extra fine-tuning on court with my coach, Scott Lambdin in preparation for tomorrow’s match. Scott has been my coach since before I was 10 years old, so to say that he knows my game well is a bit of an understatement, LOL. As a player, it’s great to have a coach at tournaments with you…to have someone seeing how you perform under different types of conditions, scenarios, pressure, and how you respond to adversity on the match court is invaluable. Most of the time when you’re fully engaged in the match, emotions get in the way of being able to see the whole picture and find areas where you can improve. Scott sees the match from a different perspective, so I’m very lucky to have this privilege.

Tomorrow I play a girl who I’m very familiar with. I have played (and beaten) her once before in singles, and we have teamed up together in doubles a couple of times, not to mentioned multiple practice sessions together. I feel really good about tomorrow’s match and I’m hoping to go out there and really assert my aggressive game style right from the start.

After tomorrow’s match, we are planning on going to this local restaurant called The Remedy Diner.  I adore diners with their ridiculously long menus, big comfy booths, and feel-good food. I’m really excited to try The Remedy because it has a unique vegan-friendly menu of such diner staples as nachos, lasagna, burgers, and apple cobbler…all made vegan! Yay!!

I’ll let you know how it is!! 😉

C’mon!!

Fist-pump action from yesterday's match 🙂

A Victory to report on Mother’s Day!

Once again, I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! I hope you all had a wonderful day…you deserve it!! I won my first round today 6-3, 6-1. I played great and felt really comfortable moving on the clay here, so I’m very pleased. There was a bit of a delay this morning due to rain, so the first round of matches that were scheduled to go on court at 10:00 didn’t end up starting until 12:00, so I didn’t get out there until a bit after 2:00…which was fine, because it turned out to be a really warm, beautiful day by the time my match got underway.

Tomorrow I play a girl from China who I’ve never played before. I’m feeling really confident and excited to pick back up tomorrow where I left off today. I play first on at 10:00 tomorrow morning…hopefully it doesn’t rain again!

I’m just going to relax and unwind tonight while watching the Phillies game. I’m a big fan and since they’re up against the Braves tonight, it’s being televised here in Raleigh. Unfortunately I couldn’t be with my Mom this Mother’s Day, but I’m 100% sure she’s watching the Phillies too right now. She’s a maniacal fan and I know she won’t mind me saying so!

Go Phillies!

Talk to you guys tomorrow! 🙂

Round 1!

Greetings!! I had a great practice day today…we had beautiful weather here in Raleigh today so it made training a pleasure 🙂 I have my first round match tomorrow 2nd on after 10:00 am, so I’ll probably play around 11:30 or 12:00. My first round opponent is also my doubles partner here…haha! I’ve never played her before in singles, but I’m feeling good so I’m definitely excited to get out there and show my stuff!

For dinner I went to Whole Foods (my all-time fave!) and had some deliciousness from the hot/cold bars…the Vegan pizza was staring at me from the brick-oven pizza area (next time!). This was particularly exciting because my regular Whole Foods at home doesn’t have this. I was unable to restrain myself from picking up a vegan s’more though…it’s safely tucked away in my hotel fridge at the moment. No late-night desserts before match day!! Haha!

Last but certainly not least, let’s show love for all the moms out there for putting up with us crazy kids for all these years. Yay moms! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there tomorrow! Unfortunately my mom isn’t in Raleigh with me but we will celebrate mom’s day after I get home…maybe I will treat her to some vegan pancakes from Sprig & Vine and a manicure? Sounds good to me!! I love you Mom! 🙂