Team “Due” for Success in Birmingham

WOMEN EMBRACE CHALLENGES TO MOTIVATE AND BOND AS A TEAM

By Jennifer Pollack/USTA Southern

For the members of the Women’s 3.0 team from Memphis, TN, nothing can come in the way of their success this season. According to team captain, Christy Muller, the team has had to deal with several obstacles, including a robbery right before the State tournament, five pregnant players, sudden illnesses of family members and injuries.

            The week before the State tournament, one player’s house was robbed during a power outage. Everything in her home was stolen, including her car, in which the robber took off in with all of her possessions. She was unable to attend the State tournament due to the ongoing police investigation. Fortunately, her car was tracked down along with her belongings and the perpetrator was caught.

            In the middle of States, a player’s husband who was watching the matches at the time, passed out from an unexpected brain bleed. His wife had to be pulled off the court and he was immediately rushed to the hospital where he was in the ICU for a week.

            On top of that, another player tore her calf muscle at States and five of the sixteen women on the team are pregnant. Despite their growing bellies, all five are playing at the tournament this week. Surprisingly, three of the women are all due on the same date: February 20.

Despite all of the obstacles along the way, one thing that has kept the team spirit alive is the team’s cheer “Go Berry,” for the Nike Berry uniforms that the women are sporting for this season’s matches. They even had “Berry” cozies and embroidered towels created for the State tournament. In addition, their coach at the Memphis Country Club presented them with a team challenge that has kept the women motivated to practice and win. Their challenge was to reach 1,200 points during their season to win a ladies “silly tennis night.” They received 3 points for hitting 50 serves, 2 points per player for a doubles match, 3 points for a singles match, 10 points for hitting with the ball machine, and 10 points for a lesson. Muller said that after the State tournament and playing the tournament this week, she believes they will have hit their goal and earned a ladies “silly tennis night,” which consists of a team round robin with free drinks provided by the coaches.

This women’s team has certainly had its fair share of challenges and are excited for their girls’ trip to the 2009 USTA League Southern Section Championships. These women are definitely “due” for a victory.