Editor's Note: This is the twelfth in a series of articles profiling Members of the Class of 2004 on Dartmouth varsity sports teams.
The five rising juniors of the Big Green softball team hail from five different states: Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma. They range in height from 5'2" to 5'9". And according to Jill Garcia '04, the differences extend beyond heights and hometowns. Said Garcia, who has played both third base and outfield for the Big Green, "We're different to the point where you could line us up and make a cartoon strip."
"We've varied in playing time, we've varied in our roles on the team, we've varied in how we have chosen to deal with our roles on the team, I think we all relate to the coaching staff very differently. We all handle ourselves very differently."
The difference wasn't lost on pitcher Brittany Copenhaver '04. When asked about her initial impressions of her class, Copenhaver said, "I remember coming into the first practice and being told, 'These are the other girls in your class,' and I was thinking, 'They're so different from me.' It seemed so weird, coming from different parts of the country, and different lives. I was really intimidated by everyone, and thinking, 'How am I going to get close to these girls?'"
As different as the members of the Dartmouth Softball Class of 2004 are, they have become very close, united by the shared experiences of two seasons under head coach Steffany Bender. The first season, according to pitcher Copenhaver, was a trial by fire, as "we had a group of strong seniors, and all they could think about was getting the Ivy ring, and every practice, every day was so intense."
That intensity came as something of a surprise to Garcia, who said that she "didn't really know what to expect coming here. I didn't know too much about the school coming here. I actually wasn't really informed about the softball program, I was kind of just thrown in hoping I would fit here. It was definitely more intense than I thought.
"I had the same stereotypes of Ivy League athletics as most people might have had, that everyone would run around with homework during practice. I don't even know what I thought.
"It's definitely more intense. It's a college Division I sport. There are high expectations. People have the same passion about the sport here as they have at the University of Arizona, and I think that's one thing I didn't expect as much as I got."
The surprising intensity produced another unexpected development, according to catcher Adrienne Draper '04, a second team All-Ivy selection in 2001. Draper said, "I was surprised how close our team got over the first year. I've been on teams that have been close, but going to school together, living in a close vicinity of everyone, and spending day in and day out with our team has been a great experience, and something I never would have expected to happen."
In addition to producing a closeness among the players, the intensity of the 2001 season produced an admirable 23-19 record, but the team's 9-5 Ivy mark took third behind Harvard and Cornell, who both went 11-3 in the Ancient Eight. The team then went on to take second in the ECAC tournament, eventually falling to East Carolina.
According to pitcher Lisa Caruso '04, the prevailing mindset was different as the Big Green women prepared for the 2002 campaign. Caruso, an honorable mention All-Ivy selection in both of her first two seasons at Dartmouth, said, "Our freshman year was more intense, and then the second year wasn't as intense. We were more keen towards capturing the Ivy title our freshman year, and then we stepped back from it." Despite "stepping back," the team went 26-19 in 2002, but a 6-8 Ivy record left the Big Green tied with Brown for fourth place in the League.
According to Copenhaver, as the '04s prepare for their final two seasons at Dartmouth, they will attempt to harness a balance between the uncomfortable pressure of their freshman season and the less focused approach that the team took in 2002.
As the '04s work to find that balance, they will also join the veteran half of the team, and the incoming '06s " and eventually, incoming '07s " will be looking to the '04s for support and guidance. According to Garcia, the diverse experiences of the '04s will allow them to relate well to the incoming players. Garcia believes that incoming players will "be able to look at us and say, 'Well, she went through it.'
"It's hard to have someone who's older than you, and you feel like they're giving you advice just because they're older than you and they just think they know better, but if you have someone who's been in your position, that's beneficial."
As the '04s adjust to a leadership role on the team over the next two years, they will attempt to lead Dartmouth to greater success, possibly an Ivy League title. According to Garcia, "You can say that we're focused on winning the Ivies, and that's true. It's almost like you don't want to talk about it, but it's definitely one of our goals.
"Even more, though, we want to end a season where we're not having that gut feeling where you just know that you could've had more, whether it's the Ivy title or that one game that we shouldn't have lost. I think that's what we're really gunning for, and if it means an Ivy title, it means finishing the season where we know we should be."
When that happens, according to Garcia, "The only thing that will change for me will be the feeling in my stomach at the end of the season, where I'm not feeling nauseous and wishing it had been different."
If the '04s have their way, the only ones who will wish "it had been different" will be Dartmouth's Ivy League opponents.
