Spring break is a week that all college students look forward to, and for many SAU athletes, they
were able to mix some tournament time with the sun.

The St. Ambrose University Women’s Lacrosse team drove south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to
play games and escape the cold for a bit. They were gone from the Quad City area for one week
and played three games.

Unfortunately, they lost all three of the games, but they did not let that ruin their trip. SAU
sophomore Abby Messina explains, “One game we played against the number one team in the
NAIA. We played so well but couldn’t pull out the win.”

In their free time, the players took full advantage of the nice weather. They went to the beach,
hung out at the pool, and went shopping at a nearby mall. Abby said, “I loved the trip. It allowed
me to get closer to girls that I wasn’t close with before.”

Meanwhile, the SAU Women’s Tennis team flew to Hilton Head, South Carolina, for some
matches and to enjoy the warm weather, there as well. They spent six days on the coast and
played two matches a day.

SAU junior Alison Hanson was only able to play in two total matches during the trip because she
got injured during her first match. Her first match was doubled, and they lost. The second one
was singles and ended up going to a tiebreak, which Alison eventually won. “I fell pretty hard in
my first match of the day. I thought I broke my finger, but ‘we’re chillin’!”

SAU sophomore Megan McConnaughay played in three doubles matches, but despite the high
energy and excitement, she and her partner, unfortunately, lost all three. She said, “One of the
schools we played against was really good. Their players have been the conference champs for
15 years in a row.”

Outside of the matches each day, the girls spent a lot of time relaxing at the beach, the pool, and
exploring other parts of the island.

The trip was a unique bonding experience for the girls because they were able to spend time
together on and off the court and make new memories as a team. Alison explained, “I thought the
trip was super fun overall! I absolutely loved the experience and just getting to spend quality
time with my friends.”

Megan considered the trip to be very memorable. She said, “I thought the games went really
well, and we definitely were all in the spring break mindset. We all played great as a team and
really lifted each other up through the tough losses.”

Both of the teams might not have been as successful victory-wise as they had hoped to go into
the trips, but it is clear that none of the girls let that get them down. They took full advantage of
the nice weather and the time away from school to stay active, but also to bond with their
teammates and have new experiences together.

Liz Saunders is a staff writer for The Buzz.