April 28, 2009

ATHENS, Ohio - In honor of senior weekend last week, seniors Allie Farrington and Jill Viguers each provided a blog for this week's "Catching Up with the 'Cats", in which they shared their thoughts on senior weekend and what their time at Ohio has meant to them.

Allie Farrington:
As the weekend came to a close, I reflected on the week. Practice began with rain, rain and more rain. Yet, we prevailed and rolled with the punches as we used every opportunity to get better. Although tarping the field in the middle of practice seems like a downer for most softball programs, our team looks at is as a great opportunity for sliding practice. As the rain and slight hail pounded our field, an unexpected but welcomed sight of coach Herm taking a route directly towards the pooling tarp was more than I had hoped for. As we all chanted and squealed with delight, a team-sliding free-for-all had begun. By far, this was the only time I had ever been excited about sliding and diving practice, considering my track record of train wrecks.

Carrying this bout of excitement over to our series against Miami was our next task of the week. We performed against the RedHawks like the force we know how to be. Coach constantly reminds us of a chapter out of our mind gym books. The chapter is about breaking barriers that you never thought could be broken. A record-timed mile of 3:59 was the fastest time to ever have been recorded, but the perseverance of one individual has opened the flood gates to new records. This concept has been a reminder to our team of the things we can accomplish. This concept encourages us to constantly strive to break goals we had previously set. Without this concept, we would not be the team we have become.

As the week faded into the weekend, we now faced Ball State. Although we did not get the outcome we wanted, we learned what we need to do to prepare for our next game. This weekend was also senior weekend, which was especially important for me. We had a senior roast for myself and Jill (Viguers), and a banquet at the Ohio University Inn Sunday night. The roast was awesome. The girls truly got the essence of who Jill and I are. It was heart-warming to see the effort that they put into this special day. A memory and song that I will never forget was a "Facal Ratts" group, which consisted of Mel (Melissa Bonner) on the drums, AT (Alexis Zambrana) on the base, Sara (Clark) on the electric guitar, and Emily on the microphone. Tears streamed down my cheek as Emily sang "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. Words cannot express how much love I felt at that moment.

For those of you that don't know this group of women, they are the most amazing, caring, and driven group that I have ever had the honor of being around. This group of girls has redefined the definition of team. Trust, emotion, ability and motivation are the team components that merge these women together.

Now that I have probably overused my blog space, I would just like to leave each one of my "sisters" something, as well as a quote to remember.

I leave you...
Coach Herm and Coach Hall - the love, passion and respect for the game that you have continuously instilled in each one of us

AT - some clothes. THIS IS OHIO, not TEXAS. It's cold here, and I can't have my Ducky cold when I am gone. Mama loves you!

Brooke (Morgart) - a measuring tape... you'll get to 48 one day. I know you can! Maybe if you and AT collectively work on it you can get there in the next three years!

Lauren (Histed) - my helmet. Although it has done me great good in the past, I feel that you may need its strength. Never take it off.

Jillian (Van Wagnen) - some brakes. Better yet, just stick a 50-pound weight around your waist when you run. Oh wait, you did that, and it made you faster. Geese! Keep working girl. I'm proud of you.

Erica (Girard) - the "are you mad?" quote. It seems to fit you well, and I intend on hearing more of it.

Jordan (Paden) - the ability to "woop" anybody! You're a brick wall back there. Catchers for life!

Kelly (Krueger) - A professional ball tosser. I know coach has a hard time tossing balls to you so I figured we could cut her some slack and get a pro.

Fuzz (Krista Harbaugh) - bubble gum and a deck of cards. I need you to break the world record for bubbles. Try not to frustrate Deanna (Hartsough) though.

Emily (Wethington) - a microphone. You have the voice of an angel. I love hearing you sing, and I'll miss it the most, besides your hugs. You're the best support sister ever!

Mel - lots of pillows. Although you do seem to have the best coordination while walking or standing, just as a precaution I would like you to wrap them all over your body so you don't hurt yourself if and when you fall.

Sara - my Latina. She is one of the best roomies you can ask for. Also, the stanky leg... (wink).

Paige (Kemezis) - my old man voice. It's going to take some dedication to perfect it, but you have it in you.

Deanna (Hartsough), Meg (Megan McCutcheon), Candace (Saucedo) and Shay (Petrich) - seniority. I know it's been a long wait, but don't get crazy!

"Greatness can be attained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible."

Ohio softball, you all have greatness in you. Embrace it.

- Allie

Jill Viguers:
This past weekend was extremely special for both Allie and I. In the world of softball, it is very uncommon to only have two people in a single senior class. In our case, however, our personalities make up for the few people that we would be missing.

The weekend started off with a doubleheader against our MAC rival, Miami. We came in fired up for these games, not only because it was the beginning of senior weekend, but because we were on our home turf for only the third time this year! Needless to say we came out with two bangs in the first inning of both games, thanks to Emily Wethington, to put us ahead and set us up for two victories. Friday was also the day when family, friends, and alumni all came in for the weekend festivities. Two wins, beautiful weather and good company made it a perfect day!

Saturday was the first of our two-game series against No. 1 (in the West Division) Ball State. It was one of those games where the ball just didn't fall for us, but it did for them. Saturday was also our senior roast and BBQ. As always, the food was fabulous. My parents also brought in some Philly cheese steaks, which made it feel like home. Also, Allie and I got to cut our cake and put icing all over each other and Coach Herm.

This year, the team was extremely creative and started the first annual OUSB's (an awards show for Ohio Softball). Allie and I won a lot of awards, including Best Brownie Maker (Allie), Best Dance Moves (myself), Biggest Butt Award (Allie) and Most Graceful (myself). While Allie and I won most of the awards, there were two awards that were given to two special people: Most Dependable (Goldie, my 1996 Nissan Maxima with 213,000 miles on it. She is a celebrity on the team and she always pulls through in the clutch.), and Most Likely To Not Have a Boyfriend was given to one of our alums that was in town (Amanda Sacks), because throughout her college career she had a hard time finding a special someone. Not only did the team have special performances, but they also had commercials as well. Even though the awards themselves were awesome, nothing beat the final performance on the field when AT (Alexis Zambrana), Sara (Clark) and Mel (Melissa Bonner) all played their RockBand instruments while Emily sang "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts, for Allie and I. I instantly started to cry, but Allie was still trying to figure out what song it was they were singing. Towards the end I don't think there was a dry eye in the crowd. It was really special and shows what a great group of girls I am able to surround myself with everyday. It ended with Candace (Saucedo) and Shalene (Petrich) giving tearful speeches and with plently of hugs and picture. Oh wait! I almost forgot there was something else that happened. We had a karaoke battle between AJ (Amanda Sacks) and AT! AJ ended up winning by a landslide by showing her dance moves. Overall, the day was more than I could have ever imagined, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Sunday was our official Senior Day, and not only did we get to have our field ceremony, but we got to have our banquet later on that night. After another tough game, it was so much fun to see all of our beautiful faces dressed up in our Sunday bests to celebrate the season so far. It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way, and I was so happy to have everyone that I love and care about there to share it with me. I am truly lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to play collegiate softball at Ohio University. Best of all, the season isn't over yet! MAC Tournament, here we come. Go Ohio!

Love,
Jill