LETS GO MARYLAND!

If you didn't know this already - I love the University of Maryland! This past weekend the Terps opened their basketball season at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

From GoogleImages

Cool, right?!? Anyway, our first game was against the University of Kentucky, the #3 seeded team. NOT FAIR. A bunch of my alumni sorority sisters were going to the game with a group of alumni fraternity men, and let me tell you, it was the best night I have had in a long time. Needless to say we lost, only by three points. This weekend was the first weekend I have experienced the night life in NYC since I moved here, and I definitely felt like I was in college again, it was fantastic.

Now as you can imagine, this post is not just about Maryland Basketball and my nightly escapades. This post is about a variety of Maryland sports. For those of you who don't know this, during my senior year I was privileged to have an on-campus job that enabled me to work with student athletes, specifically Jill Witmer (women's field hockey), Christian Boley (men's wrestling), London Woodberry (men's soccer), and Alyssa Thomas (women's basketball). Let me be the first to tell you that these athletes are the most hardworking individuals that I know. Can you imagine working a full-time, traveling job while taking a full course-load of classes? I can't. Somehow these individuals, and many more, make it work. 

This weekend may not have been a success for Terps Basketball of Football, but as a loyal Terps fan knows I do not expect my team to win at these sports. 

The Women's Field Hockey team is in the midst of the NCAA tournament and this weekend won themselves a spot in the final four. 

From Jill's Facebook

Not only is Jill an incredibly kind individual, she is also the most humble person I have ever met. She has traveled overseas to play field hockey as a part of the US-under 21 team and you would never know unless you learned that on your own. She is hard worker and truly deserves all of her success (ps she's #10 in the picture above, and obviously I think she is amazing).

This weekend the Men's Soccer team won the ACC Championship against the University of North Carolina. AMAZING. 

From UMTerps.com 

I am proud to be a Terp and that picture is the soccer team posing with their fans after the game. Maryland spirit is something that transcends just the big, money making sports, which I am incredible proud of. Now let me tell you something about London - he is a very hard worker with a very, very silly side :-P.

This weekend the Men's Wrestling team also competed in the Brockport/Oklahoma invitational and placed second in the tournament! 

From UMTerps.com 

Four Terps including the wonderful Christian Boley placed first in their weight class at the tournament this weekend. The picture is of Christian winning the bracket. Now, let me tell you a little about Christian, and why exactly I think he is so wonderful. I didn't know anything about wrestling before I starting working with Christian, and I have developed an amazing respect for the sport. Every athlete works hard, and gives all of their blood, sweat, and tears to their sports, but can you imagine having to weigh a precise amount at a precise time? I don't know about you, but my weight fluctuates all the time, throughout the day, whenever. Weighing in at 197, Christian must weight exactly 197 pounds (or less), at the exact time the tournament organizers say so. If he weights 198 pounds, he is ineligible to play. How crazy is that pressure? In addition, Christian is the only person I know who can literally do anything he puts his mind to. He doesn't believe in trying, he believes in doing - failure is not an option in his life. 

This weekend the Women's Basketball team also rose to victory against Loyola in Baltimore. The women's basketball team is one well oiled machine, and I have never seen such amazing people as the players on that team. I worked with a few of the players, and they possess such a true dedication to their team and their school that is admirable. I have never met head coach Brenda Frese, but she is definitely one of the women that I admire. 

From GoogleImages 

Not only does the women's basketball team succeed at the collegiate level, but they also have alumni playing in the WNBA, which is just incredible. And because I worked with Alyssa, I will tell you that she is one of the kindest and hardworking people I have ever met.

I am an incredibly proud Terps fan, and as such, I know how important it is to pay attention to the "less popular" sports, because they have amazing players AND they win titles!