Let the Madness begin! College stars Essence Carson of Rutgers, Abby Waner of Duke, Crystal Langhorne of Maryland, and Erlana Larkins of North Carolina provide a snapshot of their tournament experiences looking toward the championship game in Tampa, Fla. on April 8:

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SUNDAY, March 23:

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - It was the first game of the NCAA Tournament for us and we had a very tough game against Coppin State today.

I knew it would be a battle, but during the first half we just weren't playing our game. They were being very aggressive and we were playing pretty soft. At halftime, we were only up five and Coach B told us we needed to step it up on defense.

I knew we could step it up as a team because none of us wanted to go home. We were lucky that we were even up at half anyway. Another motivation was our great crowd that we had supporting us today. We didn't want to disappoint our home crowd by losing in the first round.

But in the second half, we played much better, but we still need to step it up if we want to go far in this tournament. Nebraska is our next opponent and they play hard. I think we match up better with them than Coppin State but they are still a very good team and we can't take anyone lightly.

There's a lot at stake for every team. From now on, we have to play like our lives depend on it - because now, it's win or go home.

- Maryland senior Crystal Langhorne

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NORFOLK, Va. - It's just good to be playing again. We finished our conference tournament two weeks ago and then we had a few days off for Spring Break, so it's nice to be back on the court.

On Monday, the team gathered with friends and family at Tyler's, a restaurant in town, to watch the Selection Show. We were excited to see where we would be placed, and probably a little shocked to be in the New Orleans region with LSU as the No. 2, but I suspect other people probably were a little shocked too.

After that, though, the week went really quick. Coach Calder and the rest of the staff were already preparing for Bucknell Monday night, and then we practiced Tuesday and Thursday before leaving Friday.

We took a charter bus up to Virginia from Chapel Hill, and I was surprised when I woke up at the end of the trip to see that we were in Virginia Beach instead of Norfolk. I found out recently that the NCAA places teams in hotels based on seeding, and our hotel is definitely nice. We are right on the ocean and I may take a walk on the beach later if I'm not too tired after this afternoon's game.

So now we are moving on to round two to face a very talented Georgia team who pulled out a tough win over Iowa today. The competition just gets better and better from here. We will play again Tuesday night, hopefully in the early game so we can get home at a reasonable time.

And if we can pull out a win on Tuesday, we will travel home and turnaround and do it all again before heading to New Orleans for the Sweet 16.

That's where the real fun begins.

- North Carolina senior Erlana Larkins

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - I am really excited about speaking for our team as we begin what we hope is a long run through March. And that being said ... March - the month that those in the basketball realm live and breathe for.

Well, technically the first weekend in April as well, but until there is a clever alliteration established for "Half of March and the First Weekend in April" then we are just going to stick with March Madness.

As you can imagine, a good majority of my friends are people that also have an infatuation with this most wonderful time of the year. I am starting to see a trend of our actions as of late, and am glad to know that I am not the only one who shows signs of otherwise abnormal behaviors. Therefore, here is my version of, "You Know You Love March When..."

- When your living room has been rearranged to accommodate 3 TV's, a minimum of 2 laptops, stadium seating, and a Double Shot.

- When your notes from Shakespeare class are composed of the strengths and weaknesses of each 5 and 12 seed so you can correctly pick which region will have the unavoidable upset.

- When you take on the slogan, "There are no Cinderella's," as your own.

- When your friendships become unstable due to differences in brackets, and ultimately, relentless and ruthless taunting on a game by game basis.

- When you feel like you have more of a relationship with Digger, Bob, Hubert, Reece, Trey, Stacey and Kara than you do your own parents.

- When you woke up on Thursday, March 20 more excited than you ever did as a kid on Christmas morning.

- When there is always a reason to go out at night - to celebrate victories or to distract from defeat.

- When you decide Georgia is suddenly "your team" as if the rest of the nation didn't jump on the bandwagon.

- When you don't eat breakfast or lunch for the sake of saving money to take that road trip to San Antonio/Tampa.

All of the above plus much more are indicators that it is March. March is a time for teams to thrive, despite what they have faced October through February. So many enthralling, inspiring, tragic, and thrilling stories have come through those months. Teams suffer and teams thrive. Players overlook injuries, coaching changes, exhaustion, and pressure in the face and push forward.

Ups and downs, wins and losses, successes and failures follow teams through the roller coaster ride of exhibition games to tournament championships.

But March - March is where all that is left behind.

March is to survive and move forward, or fail and think, "I should have, I could have, and I would have." To me, no time is truer in sports than March. Character, will, passion, and drive are revealed.

In the words of Pat Summitt, "There are many good teams. But there are not a lot of great teams."

The great teams are those that can endure the madness - and no one wants to be known as only one of the good.

- Duke junior Abby Waner

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SATURDAY, March 22:

DES MOINES, Iowa - Wow. Today was a long day!

The weather isn't bad in Iowa, but my lip is. Lip, you might ask?

In the second half of our game with Robert Morris today with only two minutes remaining, I caught a vicious elbow from my own teammate, Kia Vaughn. That would be the last time I go in to rebound.

Just kidding, of course.

The result of that elbow was a couple of stitches in my lower lip. Aside from my war wounds, we played a great game as a team. We established our own tempo and played 40 minutes of Scarlet Knight basketball.

After having some time to reflect on the day, many brighter things came to mind. I finally got a chance to acknowledge this first round as my last time around. The years have been great but I'm looking to make this one the best yet.

The atmosphere of the NCAA Tournament is unlike any other. It is only here that we wish to touch the ball for practice so the clock can start.

LOL.

The crowd at the arena was good today, cheering for us. I am sure it's because of their love for Coach Stringer. On Monday, I know it will be a different story. My teammates and I are looking forward to the task at hand of playing in front of a sea of Iowa State supporters.

As the minutes tick away on my senior season, I look forward to Sunday's practice, the film session and our next 40 minutes of play.

- Rutgers senior Essence Carson

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - I'm so excited about the tournament. This is my last go around and I want to make it the best I can.

You know it's the NCAAs when you see that blue carpet everywhere (lol). It's kind of weird because even though we are playing in our own arena, we have to get checked in when we walk into the building and wear wristbands to get around our own gym. But I'm just happy to be playing at home.

Our practice before the Coppin State game went really well. We had a lot of energy and with the open practice, a few fans got to watch us.

Since our loss in the ACC tournament, we've been practicing really well. We've practiced hard and have been very focused. I think we are definitely reaching our peak at the right moment. I think everyone has finally realized that this is it for our season. Our seniors are especially motivated because this is the end of our college career.

Coppin State is going to be very tough team to play. They have great guards that love to attack. A lot of people are asking us if we will take this team lightly because we are a No. 1 seed playing a No. 16 seed.

But I think losing to Ole Miss in the second round last year when we were expecting to go back to the Final Four taught us a lot of lessons about taking teams lightly and we're not going to do that anymore.

I actually played against one of their guards in a high school playoff game my senior year. We beat her team in a state tournament game. A reporter told me today that she said she talked about my ending her high school career and now she wants to end my college career.

We'll see what happens when we get to play, it should be a good one.

- Maryland senior Crystal Langhorne