Former Arizona All-American volleyball player Jennifer Abernathy and her teammate Victoria Prince finished in second place but were eliminated on the reality television show “”Go Pro or Go Home”” after the episode that aired last night. Abernathy reflected on the experience of being on the show and also revealed some of her future plans.
-as told to Ari Wasserman
On the round-robin loss:
We were pretty confident going into the match. We trained pretty hard, and we considered ourselves as equals to the opponent. We didn’t lose confidence, and we continued to play at the best of our abilities.
On earning the tournament’s No. 2 seed:
We were happy about the seed, but we didn’t always play well. We were happy to move on to the actual tournament. We are both extremely competitive, so we both were excited about getting out there and competing.
On their first-round tournament victory:
We were extremely excited about winning the first match and advancing on to the finals. We knew it was going to be tough because we had lost to our opponents already, but we were really excited.
On the mindset going into the finals:
The mindset was that we were going to win. I know I always say it is about winning, but, after all, it is our No. 1 goal. Like I said before, we are both very competitive and we were eager about getting out there and trying to earn our spot on the professional tour.
On the atmosphere of the tournament:
The atmosphere was more than amazing. It was a completely different feeling than it was playing at Arizona. The stands out there were right on the sand. Unlike in college, the fans were a considerable distance away. It was one of the best experiences of my life.
On the differences between sand competition and collegiate competition:
It was a very different experience. It is a lot more stressful on the sand because in college you have five other girls watching your back, but out here, it is just one other girl.
On pre-game jitters:
I really wasn’t that nervous. I would say I was more anxious than I was nervous. I just wanted to get out there and play.
On losing:
I was really angry. I didn’t want to lose, but that is part of sports. I am not giving up on the dream of playing professional beach volleyball. I am just going to get out there and work on it.
On future plans:
Right now I am playing for a professional indoor team called Diva Aguadilla (in Puerto Rico). I’m planning on playing professional indoor for a year or two more, then moving to southern California and working on my beach career.