Student Shout-Out: Communication Studies Golf and Tennis Players in Hawaii

Some of you very observant Communication Studies majors may have noticed that some of your classmates were absent during the first two weeks of class.  If they looked tanner when you saw them again, it could be that they are on the Dons golf or tennis teams, who both recently travelled to Hawaii for competitions.  Jealous?  I thought so. 

In women’s tennis, four members of our department travelled to Honolulu to play the University of Hawaii and BYU: Communication Studies majors Melinda Akerbrant, Blair Reed, and Ali McMahon, and Communication Studies minor Jessy Mekpoh.  The women lost to UH and BYU, but played hard and enjoyed the trip. 

I asked Jessy to let us in on how the trip went:

“So we got in Hawaii last Wednesday at noon and we had our first game against University of Hawaii.  It was so hot that at first it was hard to breathe! We lost against them.”  (Congrats to Jessy who won her singles match!).  “The next day, we played BYU Utah at 11 a.m., but although we played earlier, the weather was still really hot and it was definitely hard to get used to it.  We lost again, which was upsetting, but as we were in such a great place, we all felt better pretty fast.  Last Friday, we played again against UH, but different opponents and…  we lost again (and I twisted my ankle!).  But the good news was that we had the whole Saturday off, so we could enjoy the pool and the beach.  My teammates went surfing in the morning (I just enjoyed the warm water and laid on the beach because of my ankle), and after lunch, most of us went snorkeling, and I think that will be one of the best memories of my life because we saw a giant sea turtle!  Of course nobody wanted to leave, but we promised ourselves to come back!”

Also visiting the islands was the USF men’s golf team who kicked off (or for golf do you say “drove off”?  “putted off?”  hmmm…) their season at the 21st Annual Amer Ari Invitational.  Sophomore Communication Studies major Taylor Travis was one of three Dons who shot an even par 72 in the first round, a 74 in the second, and a 72 in the third.  Taylor shared the team lead in birdies with 14.  You can read the full story here: http://usfdons.com/sports/m-golf/2010-11/releases/20110204sa783y

Sophomore Taylor Travis

So, two things we have learned:  1) One of the perks of being a hard working student athlete is that you sometimes get to play in Hawaii.  2) Your classmates (these five, at least) weren’t ditching class early in the semester, but were instead representing USF on the courts and on the course.  Congratulations to Jessy, Melinda, Blair, Ali, and Taylor, and good luck with your upcoming seasons!  Go Dons!