How Was Your Summer? - Coach Brittany Pinkney

          I spent my summer vacationing and moving. The first part of summer, I went to Miami, Fla., with one of my best friends and her mother. It just so happened that my other best friend whom I played college ball with, lives in Miami. So, it was a great week to spend time with two of my favorite people. We did the usual hung out, lay on the beach, just a great way to relax and enjoy each other’s company. During the middle of the summer I was very blessed to get the opportunity to move up in my career path by accepting the assistant coaching position here at Mount St. Mary’s. Everything happened so quickly, finding time to move everything from PA to MD was a pain. But, eventually it got done and was well worth it.
 

My two best friends Stacey and Sabra, and me

          The last part of the summer right before school started, I went to Jamaica – my first time ever going.  I went with my same best friend whom I went to Miami with and my mother. The trip was amazing! We went to Ocho Rios, which means “eight rivers” for all you non-Spanish speakers. I definitely recommend Ocho Rios, especially if you like to do excursions. I climbed Duns River Falls and went tubing down a river where we were also able to swing from a rope that was tied to a tree into the river. I did ATV (four-wheeler) driving thru a Safari, then jumped off of a cliff into the ocean. This was probably one of the most fun trips I have ever been on in my life, and would definitely go back again.

Assistant Coach Brittany Pinkney

How Was Your Summer? - Kaitlyn Eisenhard

            Overall I had a pretty good summer.  The very first night of summer after my graduation, my parents got engaged.  I then spent a week at the beach with my friends.  I had a great opportunity to come to The Mount for summer classes.  I enjoyed the time that I had to spend with my new teammates, and I got a head-start on college.  It was also nice that I got to go home on the weekends to spend time with my family.

My brother Colin and I on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk

            When we had two weeks off between summer school and the first day of school, I went to the beach.  The first time I went with my Mom and brother we stayed at my Aunt’s place off the bay.  We went to Indian River every day.  The next time we went to the beach it was our family vacation.  We spent almost every day on the beach.  It was also my brother’s birthday while we were there.  I rode go-carts with him one day.  The beach is definitely my favorite place to spend time during the summer.

#45 Kaitlyn Eisenhard

How Was Your Summer? - Ashley Christie

The first couple months of summer I spent my most of my time on the couch.  After having foot surgery in May I wasn’t allowed to do any walking until almost July.  So to say that my summer started off with a whirlwind of excitement is an understatement. All my downtime allowed me to reread the Harry Potter series, watch NatGeo Wild, and refresh my math skills with time tests.

San Diego Zoo

After doing all of those fun activities I wasn’t sure how my summer could get any better.  Finally, by mid-July I was able to walk without crutches or a boot! So then I started walking everywhere.  I went to the grocery store, physical therapy, and the water tower at the end of my street.  Fortunately, by the end of July I was healthy enough to go on family vacation to San Diego.  It was in San Diego that I was able to do my favorite thing in the world, which is go to the zoo. 

 

#14 Ashley Christie

How Was Your Summer? - Coach Bri Gauthier

This summer went by way too fast!  This was the first summer we were able to work with the girls on the court with a ball.  It was great to be able to work on basketball skills and not just their physical conditioning. It was also nice to have all the girls here for both sessions.  It gets way too lonely without them!  July is always difficult because we are on the road recruiting so we don’t get to spend much time with the new freshmen who are on campus for the first time. 

 Along with basketball, I did a lot of fun things!   I went to California for a weekend to visit one of my best friends and her husband who live in San Diego.  It was a short trip for such a long distance!  Next time I am definitely going to go for longer!!  I also visited my Nana in Spring Hill, Florida, and one of my old teammates from The Mount in Daytona Beach, Florida.  

Dad : art , Mom: sue , Me, fiance : John, sister : missy, brother in law :Artie, sister in law : Amanda , brother : Scott

The best day of my summer was August 10th.  This is the day that my fiancé and I got engaged!!  He proposed on the dock near my parents’ house after waiting there for 45 minutes.  I obviously did not know what was going on! After the proposal we went to dinner, and my whole family was there to surprise us!  Let the wedding planning begin!!

Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator Brianna Gauthier

How Was Your Summer? - Jody Chickey

          This summer I spent my time here at The Mount. We had workouts daily, and I also took summer classes. It was great spending time with the team and being able to get to know Finn, Kayla, and Kaitlyn - our freshies! However, we missed having our lovely senior Ashley Christie not being able to be with us.

 

            On our free time, I did some fun activities with my good pal Kessie Jaufman, aka Jessie Kaufman the outstanding 3-point shooter. We went to a Nationals game, the J.Cole concert, and the Zac Brown Band concert. It was nice to have a productive summer with the team but, to also have good times and become closer as a team. All in all, this was a FABULOUS summer!

#21 Jody Chickey

How Was Your Summer? - Kathleen Belanger-Finn

The first part of my summer, I spent getting ready to move to the States, playing ball every day and working out. Other days I'd be packing and organizing last minute details. Then once I got to The Mount, the first week was the hardest getting up at 7am every day for lifting and then getting used to going to class right after and sometimes playing ball in the afternoon. But I got into a routine and finished school with "A"s and got stronger from lifting so much!

My view from the beach at Prince Edouard Island

After the 3 weeks of summer school I got to go to Canada, but not home in Montreal. I went to Prince Edouard Island, where my parents have a beach house. I had no internet access and no phone over there, so I felt pretty secluded from the outside world, which feels good sometimes. While I was there, I spent most my days at the beach making bracelets or reading books. I got lucky enough to find a local gym to workout in also to stay in shape. After two weeks, however, I was anxious to get back to The Mount and play ball and see my teammates again!

That sums up my summer!

#3 Kathleen Belanger-Finn

How Was Your Summer? - Sarafina Arthur-Williams

The summer of 2013 went by very fast – some say for the better some, say for the worse! For me, it was for just the right things! This summer was full of basketball – something I absolutely love - hanging out with friends, and realizing how much my life had changed over the years.

To start about basketball, I began to get excited that I was finally going to be able to play, work hard and get better at this phenomenal game! Then I got hurt. It really set me back, and I was out for a while. My summer consisted of me meeting doctors left and right, going to rehab and attempting to eat healthy, since I wouldn’t be in the best shape. Sticking with rehab and just trying to stay positive was the majority of summer.

Next, along with staying positive, I got a great opportunity to get closer to my team. Having transferred mid-semester, I was put in an awkward position because the team was already in full-swing. Since we were all in summer school together, we became close, and these girls became my family instead of just teammates. Being with my team was a lot of fun, which made me even more excited for the season.

That's me on the left!

Adding along to that, when I got my two weeks off, I got to see my best friend in Ocean City. I could not even to begin to express how great it was to see him! Being far apart at different colleges made it hard, so I was ecstatic when I got this opportunity! The last few days I stayed with my sisters and brother. That’s always a good time! They are three of the most influential people in my life, and it was a great way to end summer.

This summer was very expected and since it was not anything new or novel it made me look back and reflect on past summers. I know that basketball takes up the majority of my time, but every encounter I have with this sport teaches me something new about myself. This summer, my overall view was that even though life may throw rocks at you, there is always something wonderful to rejoice about! So if you would like to know, my summer 2013 was great!

#44 Sarafina Arthur-Williams

How Was Your Summer? - Jessie Kaufman

            Reflecting back on summer 2013, there were many memorable things that I did this break.  Even though I was at The Mount for most of the summer for classes and workouts, I did still in fact partake in many fun activities with my friends and family.  I traveled to Colorado, went to the beach, spent many days at my family's lake house, saw many artists in concert, went to multiple Nationals and Orioles baseball games, spent some time fishing with my brothers, and countless hours of quality time with friends, teammates and my family.

Me, Jenna, Jamie

            My favorite memory of the summer was going to Colorado for a week with my two sisters, Jamie and Jenna and my mother, Linda.  We stayed in Durango, Col., and spent every day enjoying the beautiful, breathtaking scenery and weather.  We went to many national parks, including Mesa Verde, and hiked scenic trails through the mountains, rivers and valleys.  One day, we went to Soaring Zip-Lining Course and spent all day on the country’s largest and longest zip-lining course.  This was my favorite day of the summer by far! It was so much fun, and thrilling soaring on a zip-line through the beautiful forests and mountains of Colorado.  This was a trip, and a summer that I will definitely never forget! 

Jenna, Me, Jamie and Mom being silly before the largest zip lining course

 

#32 JessieKaufman