Alumni Gymnasium, perhaps the place where Sarah Devens '96 felt most at home, was somber yesterday as coaches, friends and fellow players continued to cope with the star athlete's tragic death.
Devens, who was a three-year starter on the Dartmouth varsity women's field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse teams, committed suicide in her Essex, Mass., home Monday afternoon.
"There's just so many memories of Sarah around the gym," women's lacrosse coach Amy Patton said yesterday. "Right now, I think we're just looking to take it a day at a time."
Patton, field hockey coach Julie Dayton, ice hockey coach George Crowe and their players have all been coping with the news of Devens' death since Monday evening, as have Devens' many friends and family on- and off-campus.
News of Devens' death made national news yesterday, appearing on the front page of the Valley News and The Boston Globe. The Associated Press also covered the story.
Devens' friends did not hesitate to string together a long list of laudatory adjectives yesterday that sprung from a seemingly inexhaustible source.
"I think she'll be remembered as a great friend, as an incredible person," Patton said. "More than anyone, she had the ability to make you feel special."
Assistant lacrosse coach Marianne Bocock said, "She was such an unquestionably outstanding person. A true free spirit -- lighthearted and funny and intense all at the same time. She just had such an unrelenting playful side."
Devens' freshman year roommate, Maura Schneider '96, said Tuesday she was shocked by the suicide, which she said contrasted with Devens' upbeat and friendly personality.
"I think she will be remembered as an amazing athlete," said Schneider, who also played lacrosse with Devens. "Her personality was so positive and lovely, she made everyone around her laugh."
Devens' mischievous nature and her bountiful energy earned her the nickname "devil."
"We nicknamed her 'devil' and that pretty well sums it up," women's ice hockey Coach George Crowe told The Dartmouth last year. "You literally can't tire her out."
Devens' suicide has reverberated among Dartmouth students currently scattered across the country.
"The administration, the campus support, the coaches and the teams -- in different towns across the country, everyone's been talking to each other," said women's field hockey coach Julie Dayton.
"Everybody's at a different point in dealing with this right now," she added.
Dayton, whose team will begin its season in about a month, said the memory of Devens' effervescent character will keep the team together.
"I think certainly she'll be missed, but I think also her spirit will be remembered," Dayton said. "She had just unbelievable amounts of charisma and a sense of humor."
Many students who did not know Devens said they recognized her name as one of the top athletes at the College. Due to her frequently outstanding play in all three sports, Devens' name often appeared on the sports pages of various campus publications.
"I didn't know her personally, but I knew who she was," Pilar Rodriguez '97 said. "You'd think being a tri-sports athlete, she had it all."
Rodriguez, a member of the women's track team, said she could understand how Devens may have felt overburdened by her athletic commitments.
"When I'm in season, I just feel like I miss out on all the social life here," Rodriguez said. "But killing yourself, that's so extreme."
Natalie Bachir '97 said she could not believe a member of the College's small student body would take her own life.
"I mean, she's a Dartmouth student," Bachir said. "I just wonder what made her do it.".
The College has also organized an informal gathering of friends tonight at 7:30 in Rollins Chapel. It will be followed by a candlelight procession.
