shes starting to grow comfortable with those sorts of roles

NEW YORK -- Monica Puig gazed out at her fellow Puerto Ricans jamming the parade route, and in their eyes she saw hope.They hailed her with a sense of satisfaction, she recalled Saturday, and a sense of belief that things are going to get better.Throughout her stunning run to the Olympic tennis gold medal, Puig embraced the symbolism of each upset victory. An economic crisis is devastating the island of her birth, and she appreciated that if she could prove the impossible is possible, that message would reverberate far beyond sports.If Puerto Rico channels that same energy and belief that things will get better and working for the better of the island, the better of the community, things will improve, Puig said four days after the U.S. territory honored its Olympic team and, above all, its first gold medalist.I really hope I gave them a lot of confidence moving forward, she added, that things will actually get better.The worlds 34th-ranked womens tennis player met with a roomful of reporters Saturday, exactly two weeks after she beat Australian Open champ Angelique Kerber in three sets in the final in Rio de Janeiro. Poised and philosophical in ways that bely her age, the 22-year-old realizes some people deem her gold medal a fluke.After all, Puig has never made it past the round of 16 at a major. And at the U.S. Open, which starts Monday, shes never advanced beyond the second round. Puig is already bracing herself for the reality that her run at Flushing Meadows could fall well short of what took place in Rio.Im 22 years old. Theres still a long way for me to go, a long stretch of career, she said. If anything happens, any kind of slip-up, its not really going to be a big deal, because I have a process and I have a long-term view of where I want to go.Which isnt to say she expects a slip-up.I know that the Olympics wasnt a fluke for me, because I have worked very hard to get to where I am, Puig said. I know the hours and the tears and the sweat and everything thats been put into my practices. Its been very difficult for me.But that moment, nobody will be able to take away.Even she considers that Olympic moment to be like something out of a movie script. When spectators chanted Si se puede! (Yes you can! in Spanish) during the final against the second-ranked Kerber, Puig flashed back to a scene from the film Miracle about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.With fans roaring U-S-A! coach Herb Brooks tells his players: Listen to them. Thats what youve done. As Puig said Saturday, I needed to listen to the crowd.Her gold might not have been quite as unlikely as the Miracle on Ice, but it wasnt too far off. The night after her victory, Puig slept with the medal on her nightstand, waking up every few hours to make sure it was real. She still feels the need to check up on it during the day.I see the videos and Im like, `Did this really just happen? Puig said.When they showed the clip of her medal ceremony when she was honored in Puerto Rico, she started crying again. Through it all, she insisted Saturday, she felt she kept her focus, knowing the U.S. Open was looming.After Rio, Puig spent some time with her family in Miami, where she lives. Then it was on to the island where the big party was waiting. Its been hard to squeeze in sleep and alone time and practice -- all the things she needs to recover from one big event and prepare for another.Puig faces 60th-ranked Zheng Saisai, who upset Agnieszka Radwanska at the Olympics, in the first round Monday. She originally wasnt seeded at Flushing Meadows, which meant she could have faced a top player in her opening match, but she moved up to the final seed when Sloane Stephens withdrew because of an injury Friday.Its the first time Puig has been seeded at a major, and in what was a breakthrough season even before her golden moment, shes starting to grow comfortable with those sorts of roles.I feel like I finally understand what Im doing when it comes to tennis, she said. China Jerseys Cheap . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. 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He will have two more years of eligibility after this one.Finley redshirted at?Boise State?in 2013 and played in just three games for the Broncos last season before sufffering a season-ending ankle injury.dddddddddddd He graduated from Boise State in three years and transferred to NC State in the spring.He was listed as the co-starter, along with redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon, on the depth chart released Tuesday. ' ' '