Sept. 3, 2008

This weekend was one of ups and downs for the Lady Vols as we traveled to College Station, Texas. Traveling with our team always seems to be eventful whether it is at the airport and missing a flight or at the hotel getting stuck in an elevator. Well, getting stuck in the elevator it was. Following a wonderful dinner on Thursday night, a group of us piled into the elevator to go to the 4th floor and let's just say the bread at the Italian restaurant had more of an effect on our bodies than we thought.

We opened up the weekend at Texas A&M playing Indiana on Friday night. We entered the stadium to find thousands of A&M fans faithfully cheering on their Aggies. It was amazing to see all of the fans piled into the stadium. It was an exciting opportunity to play a team from the Big Ten conference because each conference has a unique style of play. Our coach always challenges us with a tough non-conference schedule to prepare us for conference play and eventually the NCAA tournament. Friday night was not a good night for us as a team. We did not capitalize on our opportunities and Indiana did. We held possession for the majority of the first half and entered half time still tied 0-0. The second half, Indiana came out of the locker room ready to play and we did not bring the mentality that we needed to put them away. Nearing the end of the game, Indiana capitalized on a penalty kick opportunity. We had a lot of opportunities to even the score at 1-1, but we just could not seem to find the back of the net. Indiana played a good match and won 2-0. Friday night was a major reality check for us. Trust me, Friday night was not the characteristic Lady Vol team and we quickly had to turn that around to be ready to face a tough North Carolina squad. The loss was extremely disappointing, but it gave us a chance to really break down our game film and learn some valuable lessons for the future.

Saturday was spent doing a jog/stretch and breaking down game film to see where we could be better as a team and individually. We are usually hyper and full of laughter, but Saturday morning we were still in somewhat of a somber mood because of the loss. We spent the remainder of the afternoon putting the loss behind us and moving forward. Our focus was shifted to a very good North Carolina team whom we would face in less than 24 hours. Sunday morning rolled around and everyone woke up with that serious focus. I had a wonderful bowl of Frosted Flakes to get my mind right. The game versus the Tar Heels was one of the most exciting games I have played in. Although UNC finished a very classy goal to eventually win the game 1-0, as a team, we played with so much heart and mentality. We never stopped fighting. I am so proud of the way my team played for all 90 minutes on Sunday in that crazy Texas heat and humidity. I was still a little woozy from getting hit in the head after the game, but if we play like that every game from here on out then I would take a hit every game. It is definitely great to be a Tennessee Vol. I am looking forward to a great senior season.

Jaimel Johnson #1