Falcons Embark on Spring Break Trip to Hawaii
3/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 20, 2011
The Air Force men's tennis team begins a four-match spring break slate in Hawaii on Monday, March 21 against Hawaii Pacific University. The match is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (HT). The Falcons (8-3) will also play the University of Hawaii (Tuesday), Hawaii-Hilo (Thursday) and Cal-Poly (Friday).
Hawaii Pacific is ranked 25th in the latest NCAA Division II rankings, while Cal-Poly is ranked 39th in Division I and Hawaii has been ranked as high as #43 this season. Air Force has been idle since dropping a 7-0 decision to UNLV in the Falcons' MWC opener on March 10.
Sophomore Lance Wilhelm and freshman Andy Jackson continue to lead the Falcons. Wilhelm is 9-2 at the No. 1 singles spot, while Jackson is 8-3, with most of his matches at the No. 2 spot. The pair has also produced a 7-4 mark at the No. 1 doubles spot.
Selected Air Force players will be blogging from Hawaii during the week. Here is the first installment from senior team captain Taylor Soster:
After a long night of preparation, the morning finally arrived with swaying palm trees, sunny weather and the smell of the ocean heavy on the team's mind.
The bus arrived at the Academy bright and early Saturday to take us to the airport where we were greeted by an excited KC-135 crew who seemed just as pumped as we were to be headed to Hawaii. The KC-135 had been prepped with airline seating which made for a comfortable seven-hour flight. In flight, we were allowed to walk around, check out the cockpit, talk with the crew and, best of all, operate the boom on the KC-135.
Upon landing, Hawaii welcomed us with sunny 80-degree weather, which was a nice change from the wind and 40-degree weather of Colorado the last few days.
The team got a chance to play a little soccer in the sun while the coaches went off to grab the rental cars. It was nice to feel the humidity at sea level instead of the dry air in the mountains.
After stopping off at the BX and commissary on Hickam AFB, we were on the way to check in at the hotel. Coach Oosterhous has never been great with directions (or driving) so as is customary on each trip, we once again found ourselves hitting a few curbs and lost, driving in circles in search of the hotel. Upon arrival, we only had a few minutes to drop our stuff off and be back in the vans for practice.
University of Hawaii has a great campus and the courts are located right in the center of the University. Although it was a little windy, everyone was excited to be playing in the sun, with shirts off in Hawaii. Practice lasted for a brief time as rain began to fall and soaked the courts but it was nice to get out and hit even if for just a short while.
For dinner, we stopped at a local burger joint and enjoyed a quick meal. The best part of the evening was getting a chance to walk along the beach, feel the sand between our toes and play a little night ultimate frisbee under a full moon on Waikiki Beach with the guys. Let it be known that the upperclassmen beat the freshmen with ease. In addition, getting a little workout on the beach capped of a successful travel day.
AF men's tennis is definitely WINNING in Hawaii...
Sunday starts off with practice in preparation for our match on Monday morning versus Hawaii-Pacific University...Let's Go Falcs! Eeeeekkk!!
