Concerned that five Sarahs and one Sara were not enough for the women's hockey team, Coach George Crowe brought in one more of each among his four recruits for the Class of 1999.
Sarah Halsell and Sara Nelson along with Wendy Soutsos and Kathleen O'Keefe will join the team next fall in an attempt to repeat the success of this past season when the team made the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament and shared the Ivy League title with Princeton. Dartmouth finished with a 16-8-4 record, 7-1-2 in the Ivy League
The team will also have the addition of Middlebury transfer Ginger Kreitler and goalie Melissa Siegfried '96, back from a two-year leave of absence from hockey.
With the team losing only one senior, Rachel Rochat, to graduation and one goalie, Sarah Lenczner '97, who is leaving the team for personal reasons, the new squad will be a bigger team than normal.
"It'll be the first year in the history of women's hockey that we will have enough depth that it will be competitive for the positions," Crowe said.
With the talent already on the team and in the blood of the four rookies, Dartmouth will have a very good chance next year of a repeat performance of last season.
Of the four recruits, three were accepted as early admission candidates.Halsell, one of the top scorers on her Choate High School team, played on the All-New England first team.
According to Crowe, Halsell, a forward, will contribute her speed to the team. Another attribute is her "good scoring touch," Crowe said.
Nelson does not have far to come to college. Nelson lives right in Hanover and was the captain of the Hanover High team. She was selected to the New Hampshire Selects team. "Nellie [Nelson] is a basic good defender, very solid," Crowe said.
The third early decision applicant, defenseman Soutsos, also a team captain, comes from Taft High School. Like Halsell, Soutsos made the New England first team.
"Wendy is not very big but she is so smart and sees the ice so well," Crowe said. "She is a great defender and moves the puck so well."
Finally there is Kathleen O'Keefe, captain at Loomis-Chaffe High School. O'Keefe is the third defender that the team picks up and the third chosen for the New England first team. "Kathleen adds some size and aggressiveness," Crowe said. "She goes hard."
Kreitler transfers from Middlebury to join the Dartmouth squad. She is not a total stranger to the team though. While at Taft, this forward was the co-captain with team member Jessica Clark '98.
Siegfried picks up hockey after a two-year hiatus from the sport. She was the starting goalie in the 1992-1993 season as a freshman and should give the Big Green strength between the posts.
With the strength of the lineup and the leadership of co-Captains Sarah Devens '96, Michelle Erickson '96 and Sarah Howald '96, the team should be in good shape next season. "We have good depth and we are solid right through," Crowe said.
