MONROE, La. – The Warhawk beach volleyball team is enjoying a weekend off from competition as they practice and prepare for more matches next weekend. With the calendar free of competition this week, it's the perfect opportunity to get to know two of your 'sandyhawks', graduate student
Rebecca Brown and junior
Catherine Griffith.
Brown is a ULM graduate student from Valrico, Florida who chose ULM for its "community" feel and the closeness she saw within the other student-athletes.
"My favorite thing about ULM is the people," Brown said. "Because most of us are so far from our own families, we sort of become one big family in the process, I've never experienced anything like it.
Brown's other-half, Griffith, chose ULM for similar reasons, "I chose ULM for the community feel, when I visited Monroe everyone was so nice and welcoming," Griffith said. "When I met the girls on the volleyball team, we all just 'clicked,' plus, I really liked that I would have the opportunity to play both indoor and beach volleyball."
Interestingly enough, both Brown and Griffith started playing beach volleyball at the competitive level for the first time during their freshmen year at ULM.
"I began playing beach volleyball freshman year of college. I played at my junior college during our off-season and it made me realized how much I loved playing outdoors," Brown said.
Griffith, a risk management and insurance major, is grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a student-athlete, "Being a student athlete means I am able to continue playing a sport I love, for a University I am proud to represent, while getting a great education," she said. "It is exhausting, but at the end of the day, it is worth it and I wouldn't change it for anything; I would not have met some of my best friends if I hadn't chosen to play here."
The duo explained some of their game-day rituals and superstitions. "As a team, we do an exercise called Breath Release Affirmation Visualize Reset (B.R.A.V.R.). We do this before every practice and match to get us in the zone and get us mentally prepared," Brown stated.
Griffith shed some light the girls' game day beliefs, "Becca and I are a little superstitious during competition; if we had recently won on a particular court earlier that day, or weekend, then we try to do our pre-game warm up on the same side we used when we played earlier."
Brown and Griffith enjoy some good laughs when they're not in match-mode; when I asked which of the Seven Dwarves their partner was most like, both of the girls answered differently. Brown said Griffith was 'Happy', while Griffith said Brown was 'Doc"
"I would say Cat is Happy; she is always smiling and laughing. She has a such a presence and the team feeds off of her positive energy," Brown explained.
Griffith clarified her choice of 'Doc' for Brown because of the guidance and direction Brown gives to the team, "Becca would be Doc because she is a great leader to our whole team, she definitely keeps us all in check. We, the girls on the team, all look up to Becca, and she is great at leading by action."
Together this season, the pair has gone an outstanding 7-1 and now, Brown, Griffith, and the rest of the Warhawk squad will be rolling into Birmingham, Alabama next Friday (Mar.16) for UAB's Blazer Beach Duals Invitational with five straight team-wins behind them. Fans are encouraged to follow the Warhawks on Twitter @ULM_BeachVB to stay up to date on all things Warhawk beach volleyball.
