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TechnographWomen's tennis finishes schedule at Harvard Invite
Players dress as each other as part of Halloween fun
By Stuart Lieberman
Posted: 11/1/07 Section: Sports
The Illinois women's tennis team concluded its final week of fall practice with a dose of Halloween fun as it prepared for the Harvard Invitational, set to begin Friday. The Illini will head to Boston, where they will have their final chance to prove themselves before heading into the spring season.
"It'll be a test to see how hard we've worked this fall. It's the final hurrah," head coach Michelle Dasso said.
The team will face tough competition in the three-day tournament, playing teams from Harvard, North Carolina and Texas A&M.
"It's teams that we won't see in the spring," Dasso said. "It is really nice to play against some different competition."
Because it was Halloween and the final week of fall practice, the team thought it should do something fun to lighten up the mood before the tournament.
On Tuesday, each player drew another player's name from a hat. They dressed up as whoever they picked and imitated them in practice on Halloween. The goal was to guess who was who.
It ended up being extremely obvious when the women took the court Wednesday. Beginning stretches were more like a comedy skit than a workout.
Sophomore Kristina Minor, who picked redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan's name, was the first one on the court. She sported an abnormally large white neck brace, a cozy yellow sweatshirt and black spandex pants. Minor broke out in laughter when Dasso appeared on the court in an orange polo and blue Nike shorts. She imitated assistant coach David Emery as she flaunted her new Dave Matthews CD.
"Have you heard the new Dave song?" Dasso asked her players. "Dude, seriously - it's so good."
Sophomore Megan Fudge said she was impressed by freshman Annie McCarthy's imitation of her.
McCarthy quickly picked up Fudge's German accent and whimpered as she hit the ball down the line. The only thing she was missing was red hair.
Fudge said they were able to pull this routine off because of the great chemistry this year's team has.
"It'll be a test to see how hard we've worked this fall. It's the final hurrah," head coach Michelle Dasso said.
The team will face tough competition in the three-day tournament, playing teams from Harvard, North Carolina and Texas A&M.
"It's teams that we won't see in the spring," Dasso said. "It is really nice to play against some different competition."
Because it was Halloween and the final week of fall practice, the team thought it should do something fun to lighten up the mood before the tournament.
On Tuesday, each player drew another player's name from a hat. They dressed up as whoever they picked and imitated them in practice on Halloween. The goal was to guess who was who.
It ended up being extremely obvious when the women took the court Wednesday. Beginning stretches were more like a comedy skit than a workout.
Sophomore Kristina Minor, who picked redshirt freshman Leigh Finnegan's name, was the first one on the court. She sported an abnormally large white neck brace, a cozy yellow sweatshirt and black spandex pants. Minor broke out in laughter when Dasso appeared on the court in an orange polo and blue Nike shorts. She imitated assistant coach David Emery as she flaunted her new Dave Matthews CD.
"Have you heard the new Dave song?" Dasso asked her players. "Dude, seriously - it's so good."
Sophomore Megan Fudge said she was impressed by freshman Annie McCarthy's imitation of her.
McCarthy quickly picked up Fudge's German accent and whimpered as she hit the ball down the line. The only thing she was missing was red hair.
Fudge said they were able to pull this routine off because of the great chemistry this year's team has.
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