Tara Kuk, on the road again, Dewey Beach, Delaware!

Monday, June 9, Dewey, DE – By Tara Kuk

This weekend was the Inaugural Toyota Pro Beach East Women's Event in Dewey Beach, Delaware. In past years the tournament was only for men and they have added eight women's teams to the four stops they have throughout the summer.

Kim was graduating from NOVA with her master’s degree in business (Way to go Kim!), so I partnered up with Morgan for the weekend. Saturday we played two matches to stay in the winners bracket. Our second match of the day was a marathon. We lost the first game and won the next game despite being down 20-17 on the bad side. We somehow switched on 21-21 to go to the good side. I don't even know the final score, but we did earn match point on a let serve I served. I only really like that new rule when it works to my advantage. :) Our third game was a two point differential as well, and was back and forth the whole time.

Sunday morning we played the winners bracket final and it was another nail biter. Unfortunately this time we did not squeak it out. We lost 16-14 in the third which put us in a much tougher position to win the tournament. In our match to make it to the final we played a team from Sarasota, Megan and Kristin, who were working their way back up from the contender's bracket. They are two very tall, athletic players who continue to get better every time they're on the court. It was another battle. We won the first and they won the second, which led to game three. This was the longest game three of the tournament. We again lost by two, 19-21. Of course it was a tough loss, both sides worked so hard and it could have gone either way, but it's not as hard losing when you gave it your all and know the other side did too. Meg and Kris ended up winning two games in a row to win the tournament and defeat the undefeated team of the weekend. So, I was very happy for them!

We had an adventurous ride to the airport where only Kristin and I were able to board the plane. After driving like "Soccer mom’s on Steroids" (we made that up on the drive) we had to get there 30 mins before the flight to check in. Only Kristin's card made it in the kiosk in time and I had checked in the night before. So we were able to get through and Morgs and Meg had to wait till the next morning. We learned three things though: 1- Always book the latest flight possible for your departure date- it's easier to leave earlier, but borderline impossible to leave later. 2- Always check in hours before the flight. If you've checked in, they will usually wait. If you wait to do it there, you could be in some trouble. 3- Never fly AirTran!! We talked to everyone and their mother, trying to let them know we'd be there but were unable to check in, But no one was helpful and they're answer to all are questions and requests were NO....NO....NO....NO.

Something very exciting that happened over the weekend was that I picked up a sponsor. First one for the 2008 season with the exception of the DigtheBeach calendar sponsor (Bouchard Insurance). I was pleasantly surprised to have Di from VolleyChick offer to add me to her team on Sunday. Most of her VolleyChick team is out of Cali, so I will be proud to represent her company and bring it to the FL and the EVP stops I compete in. She does an amazing job with her merchandise and comes up with some extremely creative ideas. Check them out at www.volleychick.com
I can't wait to start sporting some of the styles!

Next stop.....Chicago EVP!

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