The training court.
This tournament was set up in a pool-play format. We were pooled Mexico1 and Trinidad and Tobago. Out of nowhere, I started feeling really sick the day/night before we were supposed to play our first game. I’m pretty sure I had a fever and I barely got any sleep. The next morning we played Mexico and I tried to get my energy up for the game. I think they saw that I was not feeling very well so they went after me with their serves… throwing in a lot of short serves too, making me spend more energy running up to pass them. It was not a pretty sight.... I was dying! It was a really tough match for me, I was so bummed that I happened to randomly get sick. I know I would have been a much more threatening opponent if I was feeling better. We lost that match 17-21, 18-21. Disappointing, but it could have been worse, considering my health and the fact that it was our first real game outdoors. Later that day we played Trinidad. That game went a little bit more smoothly, we won,21-8, 21-13.
Sam and Mav playing on the main court.
The next day was playoffs. Because we came second in our pool, we had a really tough match up. We played Cuba in the first round. Luckily I was feeling much better than the day before. This time the match was much more exciting. Cuba is a really strong team and the sets were tight (18-21, 23-21), but we couldn’t manage to pull off a win. That meant we were out of the tournament. Hugely disappointing, to say the least!
However, Heather and Liz had a great tournament, going undefeated! great job girls!
So although the results we got weren’t what we’d hoped for, this tournament was still a good chance for Jamie and I to get some playing time outside this early in the season. Now Jamie is off to play a tournament in Monaco. And now that Caleigh is finished with her exams, we’ll be heading off to China in a couple of days. (Unfortunately, we just found out that the tournament in Morelia, Mexico got cancelled. Too bad!)
I’d like to thank everyone who helped us out and showed us around, especially MaJo who went out of her way to make us feel at home. We really appreciate it!
Guatemala was a cool place to visit, even though the city was a little bit dangerous. We were advised to not go out alone, so we ate most of our meals in the hotel. Seeing guys walking down the street with a shotgun slung over their shoulder was no surprise.
Our shuttle to the tournament site was also followed by a police escort! We heard stories about people having their cell phones taken at gunpoint while sitting a red light. Despite all that though, we all had a great time. I hope I get to go back next year.
