Authors Note: I cheated on this date as well.
-k
“Semi’s at nationals.”
It was November, the teams were set and I stood wide eyed and in awe of the women around me. Our goal was semi’s at nationals, at least thats what they said. It was my rookie year, I’d done my homework. That point Texas was ranked 4th according to the RRI results. 4th in the country. How could I resist joining such a talented team. I know nothing of the previous years, the players lost, or the games played, just the goal for the coming season.
Captained by Gina Phillips and Sarah “Slider” Blyth, Melee had a promising season ahead. They were supported by Lorig Hawkins with, arguably, the longest flick in the women’s game (a title now claimed by Georgia Bosscher) and graduate student from Berkeley, Michelle Ng, Callahan top 5 in 2006.
The only tournament we attended in the fall was CCC. Day one there was frost on the ground when we arrived. I remember thinking “why am I doing this to myself?” My hands were freezing, toes were wet, and feet slowly numbing. Games hadn’t even started. I’m from central Texas where frost is a mythical creature of sorts. We won our first three games. I remember this because they were the only games I played. I claimed that I was the reason why we did so well. The 3rd game I got injured. Saying it was ankle sprain doesn’t do it justice. I had cleat marks on the back of my calf where I had been landed on as my ankle turned in ways it shouldn’t. That was the first weekend in November. I played 6 points at Vegas. My first tournament back was Stanford. 4 months.
Vegas was not kind to Melee. More or less coming out with an even record, the results were less than we had hoped for. The last day began with a surprise game against Wisconsin after the brackets were changed that morning. Mentally Melee was not in the game. The 13-1 loss didn’t necessarily reflect the skill of the team, but clearly showed a big weakness in the mental game. We finished the day out with a win against UBC, and a 6-5 loss to UCSB in a strong crosswind. Strong enough that although I didn’t play, I ended up with dry Vegas grass in places I did not know possible.
We proved our worth at Stanford. Down by 3 almost the entire time, we came back in a nail-biter of a game to beat UBC 13-12 in quarters. Semi’s at Stanford. People told me that the best teams in the nation were at Stanford. Nationals prospects looked good. We couldn’t muster a comeback against Berkeley in semis, ending the game 15-7. It was a disappointing loss especially after we had picked up Michelle Ng, captain of the Pie Queens the previous year, but it was still semi’s at Stanford.
In the three years I’ve played Texas, we’ve never performed well at our home fields. Melee was not able to hold it together at Centex, with only 2 wins in pool play, and then completely falling apart Sunday with loses to Colorado, Oregon, and another matchup with UCSB. A parent came up to me that day (I’m not sure why, maybe I just look very friendly?) from UCSB and commented that until Centex they didn’t realize how good their team was, or that they had a chance to actually do well. The next few years would prove his statement correct. But really? Why did he tell me this? We weren’t playing him, I was just walking across the fields to the food.
Sectionals brought other challenges with strong winds and a sudden, surprising burst of cold in a month when the average temperature is almost 80 degrees (meaning the day before and the day after our games). Scores reflected this as we beat A&M only 3-2 in an upwind down wind game. The next day was beautiful, warm, and sunny. Too bad we didn’t play then.
I was told that nationals was a guarantee. Melee won the region every year with no competition. Everyone was confident that we would win, but a few veteran players also saw the threat from Truman State. Seeded 1 and 2 we wouldn’t see them until finals. We beat teams easily playing our entire roster. Even I played a decent number of points. Considering I still hadn’t learned to cut, this was an incredible feat. The mens finals was after ours, so the entire region converged on our sidelines for finals. I honestly don’t remember much of the game. I remember Christina Wirkus’ blue tongue, Michelle falling and me being afraid that her old bones might give out (she will hate me for saying that), Becca making a call in the endzone after getting somewhat mauled, and the single point I played where I thought my heart was going to explode out of sheer nervousness. I also remember the yelling. Tempers were rising. All I could hear was “OZARKS” being yelled back and forth across the field. Heckling had turned to taunting. I didn’t understand the hatred of Texas in the south. We were just a team playing a game. Doing the math I’m certain there were over a hundred people cheering against us. An entire section? The largest in our region? It was loud. Years later I still remember the yells, still not fully understanding the hate they had for us. Years later I am also friends with some of the people that were on the sidelines cheering against us. We don’t discuss that day, it still gets me riled up. I’d rather stay friends.
And we lost. I stood in amazement watching my team lose. All season we had come back from 3 point deficits, but not this time. I watched the last point thinking “We’re going to lose aren’t we? How is this happing?” The game was over. 14-10. I was numb. Shocked. Down by 3, we couldn’t stop the last point. It wasn’t about losing the game as much as the fact that I was losing my teammates, never again would I play with them. I was planning on another month. Michelle had just lost her 3rd game to go in 2 years. Slider is now one of the best unknown players in women’s club. Lorig tore her ACL and retired. The rest went their own way.
A week of sadness.
Then a year of preparing to dominate the south, and the nation, in 2008.