Danielle Lao
March 30, 2019
March 30, 2019 “As a senior at USC, I was giving my last season everything I had, physically, emotionally, and socially. I planned on hanging up my racquets after, so it felt imperative to end my career on a high note. Because I felt so close to my teammates, I knew it would be special to achieve something big together. As NCAAs got closer, we built great momentum to be a top contender. The pressure was on and expectations were high. Losing in the Sweet 16 was far from what we imagined and was a heartbreaking loss to swallow. I sat in my hotel room afterwards and thought about how it all didn’t feel right. The loss aside, I knew it was wrong to end my tennis career with this feeling in my gut. The next couple months were quite confusing for me. While I was finishing up units in summer school, I was interviewing for jobs. I was conflicted to be working so hard to get something I did not want. Eventually I picked up a racquet again to blow off some steam, and it just felt right. The love was still there and I was not ready to
March 30, 2019 “As a senior at USC, I was giving my last season everything I had, physically, emotionally, and socially. I planned on hanging up my racquets after, so it felt imperative to end my career on a high note. Because I felt so close to my teammates, I knew it would be special to achieve something big together. As NCAAs got closer, we built great momentum to be a top contender. The pressure was on and expectations were high. Losing in the Sweet 16 was far from what we imagined and was a heartbreaking loss to swallow. I sat in my hotel room afterwards and thought about how it all didn’t feel right. The loss aside, I knew it was wrong to end my tennis career with this feeling in my gut. The next couple months were quite confusing for me. While I was finishing up units in summer school, I was interviewing for jobs. I was conflicted to be working so hard to get something I did not want. Eventually I picked up a racquet again to blow off some steam, and it just felt right. The love was still there and I was not ready to