Letter from an alum

Lisa Sorensen, who was a member of our Midwest Conference Championship team last year, was asked to write a letter this year to the men's team as they prepared for the conference tourney. She wrote them this:

Boys, 

When asked to talk to you all about my experience of going to the NCAA tournament I was excited because I really love talking about it.  If you were to ask Charlie, he would probably say he hears about how amazing it was more times then he would like.  That is because the experience is nearly impossible to describe.  I guess if I had to sum it up into one sentence, I would say it is really a once in a life time opportunity.  

When I was a rookie, I came into camp not even having the NCAA tournament a thought in my mind.  I didn't really think that it was something that was even feasible for our women's team because it has only happened one other time in school history.  We made it to the conference tournament that year and didn’t get past the first round.  It bothered me but I thought to myself that I have 3 more years, no big deal.  Again, my sophomore year we lost the first round, but again I had two more years.  My junior year we didn’t even qualify for the tournament and I thought that I blew my chances the first two years.  Then senior year came around and we set the goal of going to the NCAAs.  Our season played out like yours, where a team that shouldn’t have beaten us in regular season did and I thought that the hopes of hosting had gone down the drain.  However, we ended up being conference champs and hosting the tournament.    During the second half of the championship game I will never forget when my coach yelled at me with about 15 min left saying to run faster to get back on defense.  I literally wanted to punch her in the face because I felt as though I had given everything that I could the entire game, but then she continued to yell saying that if I rest now, I'll also be resting when St. Norbert was going to the NCAA's the next weekend or I could dig deep and work harder and rest tomorrow on our day off.  It was then I realized that we could actually be going to the NCAAs.  We ended up winning and from that moment those indescribable feelings began.  

I still had no idea what to expect when I knew we were headed to the NCAA's, TR just kept giving me his generic response saying that it is a lot of fun.  I thought that the overnight road trip once a season was fun and thought it would be similar.  However it is completely different.  The road to the NCAA's began with the drawings of the bracket.  I remember watching the drawings for the NCAA in the Dau room as a team. The feelings of excitement and anticipation of where we will be playing and who our opponent was unreal. I had the biggest butterflies waiting for Lake Forest College to appear on TV.  Each time they moved on to the next team you just hope that your next so you can finally know who you are playing and where.  We ended up drawing a team from Minnesota but playing in Iowa… I had never been more excited to going to Iowa in my life.  

The weekend of the tournament is by far the best weekend I had at Lake Forest College.  The day we left for the NCAA tournament was also something special. I felt like the Women's soccer team was the most important thing on campus.  All of the other teams, coaches, and the athletic department is there escorting you off, even Public Safety literally escorted our bus to the highway.  As weird as that sounds it felt pretty awesome knowing that everyone was watching us go wishing it was them who was on that bus.  Also, there are many perks of the NCAA paying for your trip which is very nice… The hotel you stay at is so much nicer, you all get your own bed and they are WAY more comfortable beds then what you get on the one away trip of the season.  The food is by far way better. We never had a price limit, (although we were told not to go crazy) but I did have a 4 course meal one night.  When game day comes you feel like someone important the moment you step off the bus. You get a badge that allows you in certain places no one else can go and get all the treatment that you need/want with out hesitation.  Most importantly the memories you make as a team literally will last forever.  When talking about it to others I find myself saying over and over again that it was just an amazing experience that is so hard to describe that I will never forget.  

Looking back over my four years of playing, I feel very lucky to be a part of a team who has been to the NCAAs. Going back to what Kim yelled at me during the conference final game about running faster makes me realize that it is SO worth it to work as hard as possible and never give up during the games you are about to play in this weekend. Whether you play the full 90, a few minutes, or not at all, whether you have 3 more years ahead of you or its your last season, the time that you do play, or even spend cheering on your teammates is very important when playing for a spot in the NCAA tournament.  You never know if the opportunity will come again.  It's only been done a few times for the men's team in school history and to say that you are one of the teams who got the opportunity to go is an amazing feeling.

Good luck this weekend and I can't wait to celebrate with you on Saturday.

Lisa