The Women’s Blog Retirement

Hi everyone —  ASW here. I’m just as surprised as you all regarding the retirement of the men’s blog (link here) but I would like to start by adding to the chorus of congratulations, good goodbyes, and thanks to everyone over on the men’s side. You don’t need me to tell you how amazing it is that the Blog became what it was over the years and these anonymous likeable strangers on the internet became the “experts”. It’s a little absurd if you think about it. And wonderful.

The rest of this post is about the women’s portion of the blog. As a group we’re much newer to the game but I think we achieved some greatness in our own right. Our former Northeast women’s writer, now Tweeter, held it down solo/semi-solo for YEARS before I started in 2017, followed by NEW and West. More recently blog legend Analyst has been perhaps the trendiest blogger with her fresh article ideas, slick graphics, and her beautiful redesign of the website. We added our very own Central women’s writer in 2019, and unfortunately she didn’t have much time to contribute before the pandemic hit, and for that I am truly sorry to her.

With the retirement of the men’s blog, we each assessed our willingness to continue, with the majority consensus being that we too would retire. We echo much of the same sentiment stated in the men’s retirement post: we are getting further removed from our playing days and it is hard to find motivation and time in our schedules as the names and faces we write about become less familiar. And frankly, without the established men’s writers pulling in consistent readers, readership would be a fraction of what it once was.

I don’t know that I can fully appreciate just how widespread and loved the Blog is/was. I do know it’s loss will be a loss for D3 tennis. Because I truly believe that people will step up if given the opportunity, and honestly because I’m a little bit stubborn and want to keep the Blog off my list of COVID-related deaths (RIP Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes), I don’t want to close the door just yet.

So I leave you with one final plug. The future of the Blog is now in your hands. If you or someone you know has ever wanted to write, this is the time. I personally think The Blog can survive — there would be major changes but that’s ok. I will be here and happy to help/contribute (as well as probably Analyst though I don’t want to commit for her, and I think many of the men’s writers once they realize how much they miss it). The site infrastructure is already there, we have a decent number of connections, and the freedom following complete overhaul of writers means that you could structure the NeoBlog in any way you see fit. I will continue to check my email and twitter so let me know at D3ASouthWomens@gmail.com if you could be interested in keeping the blog alive, men’s or women’s side. It can be as much or little commitment as you like.

With that out of the way, check out what our writers had to say below!

 

NEW:

Wowie it has been quite the journey over the last few years. I remember emailing ASW after being a long-time Blog follower to offer my services as NEW, and I will forever be grateful for old NEW (who then became Central, then Tweeter) who relinquished her region to let my insight / expertise shine. The Blog has given me so much by way of friends, camaraderie and just laughing over our collective obsession with D3 tennis, and I’m truly sad that it is coming to an end. I feel so honored to have been able to bring some spotlight to the women’s side of things on a blog that for so long highlighted the men, and shoutout to the original blog squad for giving us the chance and space to let the girls shine!

I don’t like to take credit for a lot of things, but I am super happy with the rejuvenation we were able to inject back into the women’s side a couple years back, fueled by the hungry and humble squad of ASW, Tweeter (fka Central), West and lastly new Central! We did some awesome work, and I am constantly inspired with what y’all are doing on and off the court. We’ve done some pretty dope work between POTW, Power Rankings, Analyst’s insanely cool data analysis, the Eudice and Gabi Kitchell interviews, just to name a few. And while I am still sad that I’m not west coast based and missed out of Blogger Brunch, I’ll get over it.

And finally, to the fans, followers, parents and players. Thank YOU for making D3 tennis what it is. We could have never done this without your support and play, and we’re so glad to have been a part of this journey with you all. There’s no better place than D3, and just because the blog ends, we know you all will keep the magic alive. Much love, NEW

 

ASW:

I said a lot of what I wanted to say above, but if this is indeed the last time I’m posting on here, I want to hit some of my personal highlights. First of all, blogger brunch. Amazing. Never have I gotten along so well with internet strangers. Analyst sent me delicious cookies while I was quarantining after working a month in our COVID ICU last May and they were a much needed source of joy. Also I literally saw her today and we ate gelato after an intense practice in which I completely whiffed an overhead — she’s truly the best. NEW, West, and Tweeter are also the coolest and we’ve had such deep conversations regarding literally everything that it’s hard to believe I’ve never actually met NEW and Tweeter in the real world.

Aside from my co-bloggers, the D3 community has been my favorite part of blogging. I’m an introvert but talking to these people and hearing their stories is fun and humbling. It would be impossible to name drop everyone here, but in particular coaches like Billy Porter (Southwestern), Dave Schwarz (CMS), Erin Ness (W&L), and Mike Fried (Wesleyan) have been responsive, friendly, helpful, and generally amazing people. Not to mention all their success as coaches. Seriously fun to witness. Also the occasional hot gossip — I stan. Thank you all.

Next, the players: After talking with Gabi Kitchell (UWW ‘19) for a literal hour on the phone and asking her every detail about her life, I was legitimately horrified about how weird my voice sounds. I know that’s a normal reaction to hearing your own recorded voice, but my goodness was it painful to listen to repeatedly while I cut out the silences and some of my “umms”. Still worth it because Gabi is a boss. Another boss who comes to mind is Leah Bush (Williams ‘19), who recently decided she will be going to medical school! Girl yes.

I feel like we never really had a ton of comments or interactions from players like the men did, but based on the ones we did have, I know players, coaches, and parents were reading. Thank you all so much. I am in no way an expert but I did my best and I hope I was sufficient. I wish I could have done more.

Finally, I would like to give a small special shout out to D3RegASouth, who revealed Guru’s true identity well before ASouth thought I knew. As we all know, D3RegASouth still hasn’t lived down that time he asked who the Guru was in the group chat. I think this was his form of revenge. I spent some time making dangerously close guesses about the Guru’s identity to ASouth before finally ‘figuring it out’. It was fun, thanks RegAS. And thank you all. I hope to hear from you soon.

 

WestW:

I don’t even know where to begin. As ASW knows, last night I devoured a full tub of Ben & Jerry’s after seeing the men’s side announce their retirement. I gotta prioritize self-care in turbulent times like these.

Like so many of us, D3 tennis holds a special place in my heart. As my 7th grade catholic school principal would say, it literally “makes my little heart flutter.” I cannot imagine my college experience without it, without the amazing people in D3, and of course without the Blog. While it took a while for us to pick up women’s coverage, the Blog gave deserved recognition to a community that puts more work into their craft than anyone can ever see. It means so much to me that someone outside of just our parents tunes in to the sometimes crazy escapades on the court. Those long road trips with no fans cheering on your matches can get pretty isolating, and the Blog provided some needed laughter just when I needed it most. It was a reminder that yes, those conditioning drills in practice after a third consecutive loss might suck, but the time we put into our tennis, these programs, and the teammates around us is special enough to pay attention. Being a part of that truly changed my life.

I am so thankful for what the Guru and O.G. men’s bloggers started way way way back. To build this site to what it is today took years of sending their D3 banter into the void, praying some poor soul on the other side of a computer screen was as tennis-obsessed as they are. But it morphed into something…beautiful. Unlike all those plants I tried to nurture during quarantine.

I’m really proud that I finally found the nerve to sign up as a blogger; it’s been one of the most rewarding ways I can give back to a community near and dear to me. ASW, NEW, and Central/now Tweeter were so welcoming to this ‘lil newcomer and I couldn’t ask for a better Blog fam. There are a lot of player and coach name drops by ASW above; I echo all of them because all y’all are so impressive. As I take this trip down memory lane, I remember some of my favorite blog moments:

  • That time Analyst and ASW wanted to hit in the morning but I was too lazy, so instead of playing Australian or alternating I joined them for a bomb Blogger brunch
  • Meeting D3AS at a bar in NYC, but I didn’t actually know who he was so I just stood awkwardly in the doorway wondering how weird it would be asking dudes whether they were a blogger
  • Seeing my beloved West region level up and finally break the Williams/Emory dynasty
  • Launching our Player of the Week and Blog Award series to showcase how awesome you ladies are
  • This was pre-Blogger days, but that time our men’s team saw me browsing the Blog and spent half the season wondering if I could be their D3West, then getting upset when “I” picked them to lose (seriously though I never could match CHB’s April Fool’s talent)

I’m pretty shook thinking about this being my last moment as a blogger. Y’all could say I was here for a good time, not a long time. In the end your all’s captivating love of the game, the sisterhood exuding each time you take the court, and the spirit you bring to this sport keeps giving me feels. Thank you to all the players, coaches, parents, fans, and of course Mom for reading my silly articles. I may chime back in every now and then, because D3 means too much for me to completely separate from it. And in those moments I hope you remember my aging self like Amy Poehler…WestWomens out.

Analyst:

I lost my password to my d3womensanalyst gmail and Twitter accounts so maybe it’s the perfect time to retire. Just kidding, I’m still logged in from my phone so all is not lost. I am so incredibly grateful that one random day after work two years ago I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to email ASW and Central saying I was interested in writing for the blog. First of all, I got to learn the identities of most of the bloggers. But more importantly, D3 tennis was a huge part of my college experience and even if I was just able to contribute to that community a tiny bit, it was worth it. The real shoutouts go to the long-timers who started the blog and kept it going for all the years before I hopped on the bandwagon. I truly thank you and wish you all the best. Specifically to my fellow women’s bloggers–I am so proud of the level of coverage we’d reached on the women’s side. Y’all are the best. Like ASW mentioned, we had a real, in person blogger brunch once and it was wonderful. My last shoutout goes to the community of student-athletes, coaches, alumni, and others that makes up Division III tennis. It is something special. The blog hopefully brought some of that to light, but even with the blog going into retirement, I know the D3 tennis community will continue to stay strong.

 

Tweeter: 

Not sure who else other than ASW has kept track, but my journey as a D3 tennis blogger has gone from NEW to Central to Tweeter! As I have added responsibilities to my day job, I’ve gone from writing D3 tennis articles to simply tweeting updates, news and hot takes. Whatever the method, it’s been great to stay involved with this group and I’m so proud of how much the women’s side of the blog has grown. And on top of that I have truly enjoyed the in-depth stories of the humans that make up D3 tennis – from Gabi Kitchell (amazing story!) to Vynnie Kong to all the players of the week.

Big thank you to ASouth for letting me infiltrate the group and letting us grow into our own group.  And big shoutout to the rest of the crew  – ASouthWomen’s, WestWomen’s OG and WestWomen’s, NEW, and Analyst for coming in with excellent content and teamwork.

I know the pandemic stopped us in our tracks, as it did a lot of people. And this long year+ has made many of us really rethink what we do and why we do these things, in all aspects of our lives.

This time off from ‘regular’ day to day activities has made us reflect on the bigger picture on topics such as social justice and our environment. As we start to feel ready to dive back into those day to day routines, hopefully we can go back in with a clearer and better idea of how to go about things, as well as a renewed and heartfelt appreciation for the awesomeness of things such as D3 tennis.

It’s hard to know how things will unfold as we go through the summer and approach the academic year, but I am hoping that we can pick it back up once the fall tournaments start to happen. It may take a while for us to get going but I do think that this is something worth the energy, so if you’d like to join as a writer for the men’s or women’s side, please get in touch with D3ASouthWomens! D3ASouthWomens@gmail.com

 

2 thoughts on “The Women’s Blog Retirement

  1. Winging It

    Thank you so much for covering the women’s teams. It has been exciting finally read about the women players! I’m really sorry to hear that you are all retiring.

    1. D3ASouthW

      Thank you so much for your support and contributions to many a discussion! You will go down as Blog Draft King GOAT and were perhaps our most level-headed commenter on the site :). I’m definitely sad about our collective retirement and I’m still hoping for someone else to step up. I wish you and your family the best!
      ASW

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