By Daniel Singer
In their quest for another national championship title, the BYU racquetball squad is doing more before 8 a.m. than some people do all day.
Team members endure grueling hillside runs, cross-training drills and endless treks up the stairs at the Richards Building, all before the sun rises, in order to be fit enough to hold up to the rigors of their sport.
In other words, the perception that racquetball is a sport for old, overweight men could not be further from the truth with this squad.
'Watching our team play is like watching a Jackie Chan movie,' sophomore Laura Hassler said. 'We''re rolling, jumping, diving, doing anything we can to get to that ball.'
Fans are in for a treat when watching any of the upcoming matches. The BYU racquetball team''s style of playing is one of perpetual motion coupled with sound fundamentals.
'Racquetball is probably the fastest paced game there is,' sophomore Tanya Woodbury said. 'The ball is moving upwards of 100 miles an hour and both competitors are strategizing each and every move. It''s a very mental game.'
All this practice and talent have paid off in recent years.
The BYU women''s racquetball team has won the national championship seven of the last eight years. The men''s and women''s teams have combined to win the all-around title three times in the last ten years, and members of the co-ed squad are confident about the teams chances this year.
'We have a good solid team,' said Men''s Team Captain Nat McArthur. 'We lost our number one player last year, but we are very well rounded and talented in every seed this year.'
The players claimed the bulk of their success can be attributed to their coach Dennis Fisher, who has coached the team for seven years.
'He''s such a good coach,' Hassler said. 'He can cram a year''s worth of learning into a month or two.'
Fisher in turn has high expectations for this year''s team.
'I expect the women''s team to win it all this year,' he said. 'The men''s team should finish in the top five nationally.'
The squad is comprised of 10 women and 11 men, all of whom are vying for the top six spots on the team.
These top six players will travel to the national tournament in Phoenix this April.
To determine the top six seeds, team members play challenge matches against each other three times a week.
As competitive as these matches are, the athletes all claim that they always remain friendly and that team unity is one of their strengths.
'Last year at nationals, I could tell that our team was the tightest knit group in the country,' McArthur said.
That closeness is manifest daily in practice as players help by critiquing their teammates'' techniques.
One of the biggest thrills for the team is fan involvement.
BYU''s facility only has one small window where fans can observe the match, but the support of fans pumps their competitive juices.
'When people bang on the glass or cheer when you dive, it makes me want to play even harder,' Woodbury said.
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the champion team in action later this month as they play against other regional schools. But for now, the pre-breakfast practice sessions will continue as the march towards the title continues.