After these games, we were set to focus on the imminent arrival of the new school year. Sunday’s post-game autograph session was a chance for many of us to warm up our hands and wrists to prepare ourselves for the note-taking of the following day, and we were ready to write as legibly as ever. Kassi McCluskie’s handwriting, however, remained reminiscent of a third-grader’s, as anyone who has seen her signature can attest. Penmanship aside, our team moved on from the weekend and concentrated on the first half of our student-athlete label.

Having attended summer school during the last month, our freshmen were much more prepared for class than their fellow classmates. Ellen Parker, already having last spring semester under her belt, was exuding confidence before the first day. She said, “I knew where all my classes were and exactly what I was doing, so I felt comfortable and wasn’t really nervous.” Ellen’s calm demeanor was contrary to her roommate Sarah Bridges’, who described her first day of school experience as “overwhelming and sweaty.”

Another freshman, Amanda Frisbie was on the same page as Sarah, choosing words such as “long, hard, and tiring” to illustrate her day. The Dallas native is my current roommate at the Silver Cloud Inn in Seattle, our lodging for the upcoming Husky/Nike Invitational. We are a match made in roommate heaven because of our shared penchant for football and our excitement for the start of the college football season this weekend. Needless to say, our downtime in the room will not be spent arguing over the remote.

As I mentioned, we are in Seattle this weekend to play Wisconsin and Syracuse. As the only Washington resident on the team, I feel obligated to mention that it is a gorgeous sunny day here, with not a drop rain in sight. I think that many on our team are shocked to discover that Seattle is not, in fact, permanently flooded. Erin Dees, a first-time visitor to the Emerald City, is shocked by how much she loves it. “It’s so different from what I expected,” Dees said. “Does it have a Six Flags?” Her enthusiasm about this great city should translate into two great performances by our team, as we take on Wisconsin on Friday at 4:30 and Syracuse on Sunday at 11. Have a great weekend Pilot fans, I know we will!

Emma