Chapter 12 The Boxer

The Bulldogs Team spent the entire month of August traveling by car, on highways, staying in hotels, and playing on different courts.

For the players, it was a tremendous test of physical endurance, as the long journey and back-to-back games left everyone utterly exhausted.

Yet at the same time, for these young people who had yet to step out of the college campus, it was a valuable life experience.

They traveled the length of California along Highway 1, gazing at the vast Pacific Ocean and admiring the afterglow of the sunset.

In Arizona and New Mexico, the boundless red wilderness filled their view; near Phoenix, the sight of giant saguaro cacti in the national park was astonishing.

They encountered some trouble on the high plains of Colorado; the car broke down near the Grand Canyon, and the entire team had to push it for five miles. Exhausted to the core, this led to their defeat at the hands of the University of Colorado the next day.