STATESBORO – First-year head coach Chad Willis wasted no time in getting his team on the court as the Eagles practiced at midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning. 

Inspired by college basketball's Midnight Madness, it is a tradition Willis brought with him from his time at Appalachian State and will be called Midnight GATA going forward. The Eagles scrimmaged for five sets in a chance to compete against each other and shake off the rust.  

"I just think it's a nice, fun way to kick off preseason, and all the girls were really excited about it," said Willis. "You could tell that the energy level was high, and the effort level was there. I don't think we could have asked for much more with the first time doing it."

The Eagles came back with another two-hour practice Thursday afternoon and will have two sessions a day through Aug. 14. Morning sessions have been more about working on individual technical skills, while the afternoon practices are more about team drills, schemes and scrimmaging.

"The one focus of ours has been our energy level," said Willis. "We talk a lot about being contagious every single day you have an opportunity to be in the gym. How you come in - your energy level, your effort level - all those things can be contagious in a good or a bad way. So, our focus has been to be a good contagious every single day."

Willis and the coaching staff are delighted with the energy and effort levels so far, and they are pleasantly surprised by the student-athletes' fitness level.  

"As a staff, we're really pleased with where we're at," he said. "Our girls worked really hard last spring to lay down some foundations and standards that we're going to be about in the gym, and they are carrying those through. I'm also really happy with our fitness level right now. That was a big point of emphasis for us over the summer, and Don Day and Shannon Phillips (strength and conditioning coaches) have come in and done an outstanding job in the short amount of time they had to work with the girls over Summer B."

Georgia Southern is set to return 13 letterwinners and four starters to the 2019 team. The Eagles open the season Aug. 18 with an exhibition contest against College of Charleston in Hanner Fieldhouse. First serve is set for 11 a.m., and admission is free. GS opens the regular season with three matches at the Mercer Bears Classic Aug. 30-31. 

Season tickets for home matches are $50, and single-match tickets are $5-8 and $3-5 for youth ages 4-12. Group tickets for groups of 15 or more are available for $3 each and must be purchased prior to game day.