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I was qualified to participate in the Zonals! The 2018 boys and girls 12s team Zonals was played in Omaha, NE. I got nervous just thinking about it! But, I also felt honored and excited to be able to participate in this huge event! And now, the adventure had begun! Day 1: We landed in Omaha, Nebraska at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Oh! By the way, the Zonals started on that very "same" day! We were very tired after that flight. (By "we" I mean me and my coach.) We picked up our baggage from baggage claim, picked up our Nissan Sentra rental car from the rental car pickup and drove straight to the hotel. I realized I had about 4 hours to sleep because I had to wake up at 6 a.m. since my match was at 0800 hour (military precision). I did everything as fast as I could and hit the hay. Same day, 7 a.m. in the morning, I was practicing with my team, The Longhorns. We were scheduled to play the MV Sooners that first day. I was playing mixed doubles first. I was with a great player named Jason Li. I was hoping to start this adventure by winning all of my matches on the first day. You know, it was the feeling of excitement of a new challenge.
Jason Li, my mixed doubles partner, and I were playing against Skye Madatali and Sejong Kim. It was hard for either one of us to poach because of the angle our opponents were producing. But, when we had the chance to, we would try to finish the point with a volley or at least put pressure at the net. We forced errors onto them, usually from the baseline. We did make a lot of unforced errors ourselves, but our opponents made a little more than us. We won 6-4! I couldn't be more happy starting our the day with a win. I had some time before my singles match. I was going to play as soon as my partner finishes his singles match. Because there was no time, so my coach got me some breakfast kolaches to eat before my match. Then, in a little bit, I stepped on the court.
My first singles opponent was Skye Madatali. I played freely. I balanced my game doing a little bit of everything to confuse her so she doesn't know what I would do next. I was able to stay in control the entire match. I won 6-0, 6-0. Rest of the day: We went to eat at Panera Bread with the entire Texas teams. We laughed, and talked, and laughed some more! We had a blast! After that, we went back on the courts with Kori Montoya, my doubles partner for the next day, to practice for tomorrow's doubles match. After we finished up, we went back to our hotel to get our full rest for the next day. A new day was awaiting for us!
Day 2: Friday, July 27, 2018, is the second day of my big adventure at the Zonals tournament. This time we were playing the MV Bearcats. I had a doubles match to play first. I warmed-up with Kori before all of our matches. I felt pretty relaxed and confident about today's challenges. So, we begun to play. My doubles partner, Kori Montoya, and I were playing doubles against Emery Gross and Isabella Galichia. We were not very active or in sync with each other, which became a big problem for us in this match. We were missing balls everywhere. It was like we couldn't do anything about it either. I made so many errors during this match. We made a lot of errors, tactically and technically. We were beginning to feel our grooves, but we couldn't recover fast enough before the match was over. We lost 1-6.  w/ Skye Madatali, after our match. You know the experience I had could help me, or they can hinder me. I started my singles match right away on that very same court. I could feel myself getting very tense and nervous. There was one thing I knew for sure. I will play my way, even if I lose. My second singles opponent was Emery Gross. She made a lot of unforced errors in the first set. This won me a lot of points. I ended up winning the first set. Things changed in the second set. She became a lot more consistent. I was trying to outplay her, but it didn't work because of my errors. We went to a third set. In this set, my goal was to be more aggressive. Sadly, I took too many risks I shouldn't have taken. You could say I overplayed the set. I lost 6-3, 3-6, 3-6. The rest of the day: I watched and cheered on my teammates even though our team overall weren't doing so good on that day. It was fun, however, watching different matches and different styles of play. After that, since my doubles partner for tomorrow couldn't practice with me, My friend Kori Montoya practiced doubles with me. After we ate, we went back to the hotel, I washed up as quickly as possible and slid into bed.
Day 3: rain! It was raining a lot today (Saturday, July 28, 2018). So, because of the rain, we had to play all of our matches indoors! This took extra time because the place we were playing at only had 4 courts! I was also glad we had the chance to play indoors because I could gain some experience from it. Next up, doubles! We were playing the NO Bison. My doubles partner, Annapaula Campos, and I were playing against Tianna Houske and Elyse Palen. they were a good team but Annapaula and I had our own tricks up our sleeve. Annapaula's baseline game and my net play gave them a hard time. We stayed active, positive, and ready to win! We did make some unforced errors, but we stayed in the point and be the controlling team the whole match! We won 6-4.
Next was my singles match, which followed immediate after my doubles with Annapaula. But, I had some time since there was a limited amount of courts. me and my coach went out to buy some food to eat. I had a delicious Chipotle Chicken Sandwich! After we finished eating, I went to watch and cheer on, and supported, my teammates before my match. When I watched some matches that were playing, I wanted to get on court myself. But I knew I had to wait my turn (no courts were available); I was next in line for open court. My third singles opponent was Tianna Houske. She was a power hitter. In the first set, she made a lot of unforced errors which gave me enough points to win the set. In the second set, her consistency grew and her shots gave me some trouble. She hit hard, flat ground strokes that forced me to make an error or hit a weaker shot. I really started to doubt my game. Was I good enough to get me through this match; could I weather the storm? The real question was, will I be able to play my way? We split set, so we started the tie-breaker. We were neck and neck. I could feel the nerves in my arm every time I swung the racket. I was so tense, I couldn't move my arm to swing freely. Consequently, I lost 6-3, 3-6, 9-11.
Why couldn't I execute my strategy properly? Why did I let fear control me in this match. Fear stopped me from playing my way. Fear lost me the match. I felt astounded after my match. It left me wondering if I could come back with my other matches. If I could just play my game, and JUST DO IT! The constant fear and doubt was messing with my answer. But my courage knew I had it in me. It was a tough loss, but the experience of that loss versus Tianna helped me to understand more about myself and my competitive feelings. The rest of the day: My team played and won some amazing matches. Everyone fought hard and won in the end! Our first victory! It was fun watching and experiencing their emotions as a spectator. You knew it was like stepping back to see the bigger picture, and you understood the entire story. After the last match of the day, a group of our team went to a restaurant to celebrate our victory and shared our experiences together! We laughed and smiled and had lots of fun there. Fun was on the outside, but I was still fighting my feelings of fear and doubt for my matches tomorrow. What could I do to feel at peace in what I do?  Koch Family Tennis Center... Day 4: It is Sunday, July 29, 2018. Everyone in the Longhorns team were on the courts practicing as the time flew and it got closer and closer to our matches. We got to the practice courts at 6:45 a.m., but 8:00 a.m. matcheWe were playing the IM Grizzlies. Then, it was time for my doubles match. My partner, Claire Logeman, and I were playing against Campbell Ricci and Amina Abdullaeva. They were very consistent players, their doubles rhythm was very good. They outplayed us a lot at the baseline. We were trying to be aggressive, and finishing the point at the net was not easy. However, we were able to control many points during the match, even though we would lose points or games. With constant pressure, we were able to pull of a victory! We won 6-4. Next on the schedule was my singles match. I had to wait for my partner Claire to finish her match then I could play. I got about an hour of rest and then it was my turn to play.
My fourth opponent was Campbell Ricci. She was very aggressive and had a lot of spin on her shots. She usually overpowered and out rallied me to earn points in the first set. Her groundstrokes were very forcing and deep in the court. In the second set, I was able to get in control and familiar with her shots. However, I still made a lot of forced and unforced errors. I lost 2-6, 4-6. For the rest of the day: I watched everyone on my team played. Our team coach gave us our times when we were going to play the next day, My time to play was scheduled at 10:30 a.m. I was hoping that I could get myself together for one last battle.
Day 5 (last day): It is Monday, July 30, 2018 and I am warming up before my last singles match. I was running around the courts, while observing everyone playing. I was felling confident. But then, I wasn't on the court. You never know. About 15 minutes later, it was time to play. My fifth singles opponent was Natalie Untermeyer. She was hitting winners everywhere!!! It was hard for me to read where she was going to hit next. Whenever I would try to attack, she would counter attack me! I was able to force some errors on her by moving her around the court, but I didn't stay consistent enough to win, so I lost 2-6, 2-6.
On our flight back, sitting by the window, looking out and staring at the world below, thinking about my performance, I knew I could had done better. I wished I could had fought a little bit more. I wanted to play my best game, regardless of losing or winning. What was stopping me from my best self? I needed to understand my feelings; I needed to be aware of my thoughts. I will now begin with that--understanding myself! Thank you for allowing me to share my experience. Karina Zaharieva
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Karina ZaharievaI'm an aspiring junior tennis player. My goal is to play professional tennis. This is my journey. I hope you enjoy my website and follow my progress. Categories
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