Aug. 15, 2001

Valkenswaard, Holland - Greetings from Holland. The Stony Brook women's soccer team has safely arrived after a six-hour transatlantic flight that saw them touch down in Amsterdam at 6:30 a.m. local time (12:30 EST). After going through customs, the Seawolves met Frank, our tour guide, before boarding a bus for a 90-minute ride to Valkenwaard, Holland.

Upon our arrival in Valkenswaard, our room at the hostel were not yet ready so many of us played cards and ate power bars while fighting the tremendous pull of sleep deprivation. Around 11:30 local time, we finally checked in our room and prepared for practice. A two-mile walk in 90-degree heat preceeded the hour long practice which just wrapped up about 30 minutes ago (around 3:00 p.m. local time). We have yet to sleep so many of us are running on fumes as we try and push ourselves into the evening hours here which will enable us to wake up "on schedule" tomorrow. During the practice, Lauren Canino (sitting out after surgery to remove her gall bladder) and I were determined to find a shortcut back to the hostel. Fortunately, we were able to due so and it made the walk back after practice much more enjoyable.

We have a big day ahead of us on Thursday. An early morning training session will precede an afternoon of touring before taking a 90-minute bus ride to Belgium for a 7:00 p.m. contest. Despite the lack of sleep, everyone is in a great mood and extremely thankful for such a wonderful opportunity. Holland, from what we have seen so far, is a beautiful country with towns that are strikingly clean. We look forward to getting a better look around tomorrow. We are expecting good weather with temperatures in the high 80s all week long.

Everyone says hello and is thinking of their families back home. We miss you and will be back home before you know it.

--Rob Emmerich, Jr. Asst. AD for Media Relations

From Coach Ryan

"We're thrilled to be here and can't wait for our game tomorrow. Everyone is safe and sound and looking forward to a great trip."

Some thoughts from junior goalie Ashley Blake

"We have just finished practice and many of us are a bit delusional. Lack of sleep has made us a bit demented but we are very excited to be in such a diverse environment. It is OK to drink the water here and what's up with Fil and Dex. I'm alive."