Ranking

Tennis was exhaustive today. We started at 1:30 and played challenge matches the whole time. A challenge match allows someone of a lower ranking in the team to challenge someone of a higher ranking; if they win, they move up.

I'm ranked at about tenth in our fourteen-player team, but I passed at the chance to play number nine, partly because I knew I wouldn't win, and partly because I was hoping that somehow I wouldn't have to play (yeah right).

Number eleven, though, challenged me. That ticked me off a bit. Long story short, I managed to defend my rung on the ladder, winning eight games to six after about fifty minutes or so of play. I started losing more games as I got too tired and hot to hit the ball properly. I would have probably lost if we had played much longer.

Also, if it hadn't been so hot out I might have done better. It's currently 82°F (28°C) out, and there was no shade on the court. I did bring a twenty-four ounce thing of water out, which is an improvement over previous practices, when I didn't bring any. The water did become lukewarm, but it still felt like a godsend.

It's messed up. A couple days ago all of the flowers were in full bloom and the grass was green and lush; now the flowers are wilting and the grass is dying from the heat. Spring lasted for maybe a week.