Monday – Thursday (Nov 5 – Nov 8, 2012)

It's so hard to start this in a way that communicates the surreal feeling of waking up over and over every day knowing that we are conference champions. We put in the work. We achieved our dream, our goal. We did what no team before us has done. Like coach jokes about the day after any big win: “The sun shines a little brighter and the birds are a little chirpier”. Both have certainly been true this past week of practicing before leaving for the first round of the NCAA Championship (AAHH!!!!). The sense of unrestrained bliss is hard to miss if you're around any of us. Not the ever-competitve soccer-tennis rematch on Monday nor the classic (and dreaded) Kim phrase, “On the line; gimme an up and back...or five” throughout the week could get our spirits down.  A few too many times Coach has had to draw our attention back to him while explaining a drill or walking us through a play because it's so hard to keep down our excited chatter about the new pictures that just came out from the championship game and subsequent celebration--“Did you see [insert team member]'s face in that one picture?!...My legs looked awesome in that action shot!--or how excited we are about getting steak dinners or the scouting reports we've hard about our next opponent, already planning which weak links to exploit on the road to our next win. We're just so excited; it's hard to contain. Knowing how far we've come, starting out with a 9-0 loss in our first game, and how far we can go (final four, anyone?), is keeping us going strong, despite the aching muscles, numerous blisters, and creaking joints. But we'll survive, and we'll win. Or we'll leave every bit of our soccer beings on the field trying. First, though, is the 6-hour coach bus trip. Until then...ALL WE DO IS WIN. - Dana Smith