The University of Mississippi Athletics
REBELOG: Connor Vogel 05.17
5/17/2010 | Women's Tennis
OleMissSports.com's Rebelogs provide fans with a look inside the life of Ole Miss student-athletes. Junior Connor Vogel blogs about the Rebels in the NCAA Championships. The Rebels defeated UC Irvine and Georgia Tech 4-0 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
May 17, 2010
Rebel fans,
I am so happy to be able to say we're headed to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Sweet 16! It has been an unbelievable past few days! I am so proud of the team for what we were able to accomplish this past weekend. It took a lot of heart and determination to be able to beat a tough Georgia Tech team at their place. At the start of the season, we made going to Athens a team goal, and it is so exciting to see all of our hard work paying off.
We had quite a bit of inspiration going into Atlanta. Coach (Mark Beyers) surprised us with a motivational speech by Coach (Houston) Nutt, which set the tone for the entire weekend. Coach Nutt would be happy to know that this past weekend, our team played with "No Gaps!" We played as a team, fought as a team and won as a team.
Tomorrow morning we are off to Athens to take on No. 3 Florida. We faced Florida earlier in the season and lost, so we are happy to have another chance to play them. They have proven themselves to be one of the best teams in the country, so we look forward to the opportunity before us.
After practice today, Coach surprised our team once again. We were able to watch a special highlight reel of the 2008 Ole Miss football game vs. No. 4 Florida. As we watched Ole Miss take down the eventual national champions through heart, determination, and most importantly belief in themselves and their teammates; we realized, that we too could accomplish anything with that same kind of desire.
At the end of the highlight reel, inspirational words flashed across the screen. The words that seemed to stand out the most to me were, "It's your turn to shock the world." So, with that, as we head to Athens, I say to our team: Let's go shock the world!
Hotty Toddy Go Rebels!
April 20, 2010
Hey there Rebel fans,
Postseason is here! The team leaves Wednesday morning for the SEC Tournament, and I couldn't be more excited! I would like to congratulate all the girls on an amazing regular season as well as earning the second seed at the SEC Tournament. Also, I am so proud of the team for accomplishing one of our preseason goals: to win the SEC West. Everyone has worked so hard all year long, and its finally paying off. I think I speak for the entire team when I say that we look forward to the matches this weekend and the opportunity to improve upon our current national ranking.
We will begin tournament play Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT, against the winner of the Auburn/Arkansas match that takes place Thursday. Earlier in the season, we suffered a tough loss against the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, so I would definitely like the chance to play them again. The team has consistently gotten better with each match this season, and I hope we can take that momentum into the tournament. Besides winning the West, another one of our team goals is to host an NCAA Regional. Currently, the team is ranked No. 17, and with the top 16 teams hosting, we hope we can do well enough this weekend to accomplish our goal.
The most exciting part of the season is upon us, and I look forward to the fun ahead. Win or lose, I am so proud of the team for what we've been able to accomplish this season. It has been a lot of fun! Now is the time to enjoy the obstacles ahead and work hard together as a team to accomplish the things that I know we are capable of achieving.
I would like to thank all of the fans who have come out to support us this season. You have inspired us as a team and helped motivate us during the tough SEC season. I really hope we will have the opportunity to play in front of our home crowd once again in an NCAA Regional.
I look forward to our remaining matches and the chance to maybe win an SEC title! Follow us online at www.OleMissSports.com.
Go Rebels!
Connor Vogel
