[PHOTOSTORY 3: MOTION] Georgia Southern Women's Tennis Practice

 By: Madlen Wendland 

The Georgia Southern women's tennis team is cheering as they begin practice. They practice six times a week on the tennis courts and twice in the weight room. 

Franziska Heinemann (right) and Evelyn Warkentin (left) are doing a dynamic warmup. The dynamic warmup starts blood flow to the muscles and helps prevent injuries that could occur during practice. 

Georgia Southern has six tennis courts where the team practices. Due to various injuries, the team did not qualify for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

The team does a coordination ladder for warmup. Having good, precise coordination between the feet and legs is essential for running as quickly as possible from one side of the court to the other and catching the ball. 

Evelyn Warkentin is warming up her legs and hips with a dynamic running drill. She is a sophomore at Georgia Southern from Germany, majoring in psychology. 

After the warmup, the team is meeting for a quick talk. They talked about which drills they will do today and who will pair up with whom.

Everyone high-fives each other at the start of the actual practice. There are seven players total on the team.

Sean McCaffrey is cleaning up after the team’s warmup. He is the head coach of the Georgia Southern women's tennis team.

One of the buckets of tennis balls the team is using. In a regular two-hour practice, the team uses approximately 200 balls.

Angelina Mihajlovic is about to start playing tennis. She is a sophomore at Georgia Southern from Serbia, majoring in economics.

Franziska Heinemann (left) and Nanaka Kijima (right) are playing doubles with two other girls. "I am from Japan, and coming here to the United States allowed me to play tennis at a high level and pursue a college degree at the same time," Nanaka Kijima said. 

Nanaka Kijima is serving the ball. She is a senior at Georgia Southern, majoring in management.

Linsen Rinman is returning the ball. She used the volley technique on this hit, a short hit to return the ball quickly to the other person. 

Franziska Heinemann is fixing her stance to have a stronger hit the next time the ball comes. She is a sophomore at Georgia Southern from Germany, majoring in sport management. 

Ines Fonte (left) and Sean McCaffrey (right) are coaching the team. Ines Fonte announced that it was time for a change in techniques; the players were supposed to use different ways to react to the ball.

Evelyn Warkentin is doing an approach shot. This means she hits the ball from the middle of the court with the intention of moving closer to the net.

Amelie Rosadoro is holding the racket with a backhand and is waiting for the next ball. She is a sophomore at Georgia Southern from Spain, majoring in management.

Amelie Rosadoro (left), Nanaka Kijima (middle), and Linsen Rinman (right) are congratulating each other for a good game. "I love having just seven people on the team because it all makes us really close and all of these girls are basically like my sisters," Linsen Rinman said.

Nanaka Kijima (left) and Linsen Rinman (right) are walking off the court. Their practice lasted two hours.

Linsen Rinman is drinking water. This practice was not too hard because the team had a match the next day against Florida A&M University.