can someone read this and help me fix it??

Eric and I have known each other for the past five years. We have only played one tennis tournament together and it was four years ago. We decided unknowingly to go to the same junior college in Temple. We played doubles against each other for two years there. He has always been on the number one team and I on the number two team. Then after our two years there I decided to go to University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and he decided to go to a school in Oklahoma. Troubles between his wife and the girls coach had him looking for another school to go to. He called me up and wanted to know how it was here. Being the persuasive guy that I am he packed his and his wife bags and headed here. With him on the team, UMHB has been better than they ever have in six years. Again, Eric and I did not play doubles together, him playing on the higher team than I.

Our senior year of eligibility and Eric and I finally get to play together. Eric is the better doubles player between the two of us so I was more excited than he was. Usually, a team of any kind needs to play a lot together to get used to one another, but not us. We had played tennis with each other for four years now so we knew the other so well that we clicked instantly. This is why we started out with a huge win our first college tennis tournament together.

The fall tennis season focuses on individual performance. So just singles and doubles tournaments are played. The Regional tennis tournament is mainly to get the seeds for the Conference tennis tournament. So we get to UT Tyler thinking "ok well, lets just play our best and see what happens," I said. We had nothing to lose was the mind set we took into each match. We had a bye the first round because we were the number one seed. Seeing the draw shocked us because we were at the top, picked too win it. That normally would have put some pressure on us, but for some reason we just did not let it bother us. So we played our first match Saturday and won handily against one of our rivals in McMurry. Then played the hometown team and waxed them off the court with no problems. So we made it to Sunday the semis and finals day. We were relaxed and determined to keep playing well. So we make it to the finals with no scare. But we face the number two seeded team in Hardin-Simmons.

We knew one of the players but his partner was a freshman, so we were without a good scouting report on him. We learned pretty fast that he had one of the most electrifying forehands we had ever seen. Being a smarter and more experienced doubles team we edged them out at the last possible moment. Winning and sending our fans into a roar that warmed our hearts. This tournament felt good too win. It was my first win in doubles and gave us the number two seed in the Conference Tournament.

So we were getting more confidence everyday coming off our victory in Tyler. We were not getting cocky or anything, that’s just not what either of us do. So we went to practice and focused on our basics and just got a day better. Our team really helped us as well, they took the time and played us as hard as they could each day to help us improve. They were behind us in every thing. They were cocky for us so we didn’t have to be, telling everybody at school we were going to win Conference. It wasn’t a bad cocky it was like talking up your dad. My dad is better than yours kind of matter, but with no fights ever taking place.

So the Conference tennis tournament finally comes around and we are a little nervous and aware of what could happen if we won. We would only get nervous when it was just me and him in our motel though, never on the court which was good. So we really got our teeth in early playing a team from UT Dallas that had us neck and neck until we got a late break. After the break we held our serve and won, but a good early round match for us. This match made us play good early in the tournament, which sometime doesn’t happen in other tournaments. So we kept our solid performance going throughout the quarterfinals and took our play to Sunday, the semis and finals day.

Our opponents in the semifinals where from Trinity, this school was the juggernaut of our Conference. They always had a winner in previous years in both singles and doubles. So we had to take our solid play and turn it into our best play. We started the match solid, no ugly errors just plain solid doubles. This was only good enough to be tied with them throughout the match. We weren’t the type of team to get risky. We just played until they started messing up and then we would pick and chew on that one mess up. We waited until the last game of their serve and we broke them. Normally in doubles whoever serves usually wins the game because they have the advantage of the serve. So we went up a service break and then we served for the match. Not submitting to our jitters we came out with four beautiful points and won the match. We were very pumped, a good way to go into the finals with a solid win. We get an hour break after each match so we took that hour to focus on our next match. Not thinking about if we win this match we are going to Florida! So that hour was the fastest hour of my life, we ate a banana and then we were back on the court. So guess who we have to play? Another Trinity team, supposedly their best doubles team. We aren’t scared or intimidated at all. We knew we had to stay calm and make the fewest errors possible. So the match starts out with both teams making mental mistakes going back and forth. We finally adjust and get back on rhythm and hold then break to go up 7-6. So its my serve, and suddenly my nerves hit me. We go down love-40, and Eric comes and says "hey you nervous or something." And I reply "nah, just trick’n them." But in actuality I was super nervous, I knew if I told him that I was nervous then he would get nervous. So I knew I had to step up and get them haters off me by shaking it off and focusing on these next points. I served up some huge bombs to get it back to deuce and then from there we took the match. Shocking everybody watching except us and our teammates.

Our celebration was short and sweet. Receiving our plaques we smiled and just kept thinking, "Florida here we come!" Our conference is split into a north and a south. We are the south so we had to win one more match to make it Nationals. The good thing was we got to go to Florida and play it there. So we flew on a plane from Killeen to Houston, which was the worst plane ride that I have ever gone on. It was stormy, cloudy, and windy so we were swaying back and forth making the passenger in front of me throw up. We survived that trip and were a little skeptical about the next, but would not say No to Florida and a chance to go to nationals. So we get to Florida two days before the tournament to warm up and get used to the conditions. We stepped on the court with two freshman that had an outstanding Conference tourney just like we did. We were not nervous because we had a lot more experience than them. But we were not overly confident at all due to whoever was having a better day would probably win. So we start out great getting up on them 5-1, but then let them come back to 5-all. We didn’t get down on ourselves and stick with what’s working for us and take the next two games. Then we keep our momentum rolling and win the second set with ease. So we are in and it feels good!

We don’t stop there and we take our streak to the finals winning two more matches. So we are in the finals and we are thinking to each other, "Are we even that good, how did we get here?" Our Coach just told us that we do all the simple and basic things perfect and we do not make errors. So we took that knowledge to the finals. Starting off a little shaky giving up the first set 6-2. So we are a little bummed out, but we don’t want to end the season like that. So we decide to let that slide and start grinding out our opponents. We won the second set barely 6-4 and head to a third set tiebreaker. We are neck and neck until 7-8, they won a long point and go up 7-9. Dampening our spirits and then winning the match 10-7. We were devastated, yet proud of ourselves, because on another day we could have taken them down.

We get back to school the next week and I walk into class and everybody starts applauding and of course I looked behind me to see who they are clapping for. But when I did Coach Kerr who was my biggest fan said, "Congratulations man, we got updates throughout the week on how yall were doing!!!" I was speechless only saying, "yea thanks, but first would have been better." They laughed and said, "nah second is good enough." We also got honored with plaques during halftime at a basketball game. You have never seen a redder face than when everybody started standing clapping, yelling, and smiling. To finish it off I would have to say that this is one of my greatest accomplishments. Being the first UMHB tennis players to win Conference, win an ITA Regional, and to go to Nationals.