Field hockey coach Tina McDavitt had a daunting task ahead of her this offseason.
After four-year starters and two-year co-captains Jeanne Grabowski and Lea Napolitano donned the Jumbo brown and blue for the final time last October, McDavitt had a gaping hole to fill in the middle of the field.
But that hole has yielded a new style of play for her team-one that has the potential to encourage a more collaborative effort.
"We're moving people around," McDavitt said. "We're trying out different players. This is the kind of hockey I like to teach - a team game, not so dependent on one player. Anyone can step up at anytime."
"We're a completely different team," senior co-captain Stacey Watkins added. "We used to focus on dribbling individually, which was a problem, but now we have great passing. We're getting around defenders quickly, and getting good shots. We're really confident; we're taking more shots on goal and moving the goalie."
McDavitt will also have a slew of new players to throw in the mix. An influx of five new freshmen will complement the returns of several players who spent much of last season sidelined by injury-senior Kathleen Martin and juniors Corey Green and Meghan Becque-and bolster an already seasoned crew.
Watkins and Martin are joined by goalkeepers Marilyn Duffy-Cabana and Angela Rappoli as the team's seniors. Senior Lizzy Oxler left the team in the offseason, but the team's other three juniors-Ileana Katz, Katie Pagos and Jennie Williamson-got significant playing time last year and will bring their experience to the turf.
But despite returning 10 upperclassmen, the team is not taking anything for granted. McDavitt has emphasized fitness and agility in addition to the key fundamentals, such as stick-to-stick passing. And for the first time, the team has been watching video of practices and scrimmages, hoping to recognize and isolate problems.
"We're really focusing on
consistent play, always playing our best, and always hustling," said Becque, who is also a staff writer for the Daily. "As far as this season, we emphasized being really fit. When it comes to games against really tough teams, the fitter team has a much better advantage."
With the pieces coming together, it will be one step at a time for the squad, which has shown glimmers of a breakout season since McDavitt took the job in 2004. Field hockey is among NESCAC's best sports-with Bowdoin, Middlebury and Williams all getting bids, and first round wins, in the NCAA tournament last year-and McDavitt has her team focused on each matchup.
"We had a team meeting, and we didn't address our record," Becque continued. "We're taking it each game at a time, bringing up the level of field hockey."
That level of play will be formally tested for the first time when the Jumbos open the season at home against conference rival Colby on Saturday afternoon. Last year, the same match-up yielded a 3-0 win for Tufts, but the team is wary to look at that outcome as precedent for success.
"All NESCAC teams are difficult," Watkins said. "We need to go in with the mentality that every single day they can beat us, and we can beat them.
The Jumbos' schedule this season plays to the team's strengths and may make the difference in toss-up games. As Wesleyan turned out to be the thorn in the Jumbos' side throughout last season, this year's Oct. 17 game looms large on the schedule. This time, however, Tufts will have home field advantage.
A perennial finesse team, the squad has historically struggled on grass, something McDavitt tried to reconcile this year by dropping Wheaton from the schedule and adding Endicott, which plays on turf, allowing for a faster-paced game of precision. Now the team's only game on grass comes on Sept. 23 at Amherst.
McDavitt hopes this consistency in playing surface will play into the hands of her team. Inconsistency on the part of the Jumbos proved to be a fatal flaw last season; they were never able to record more than two wins in a row throughout the entirety of 2005, resulting in a mediocre 8-7 record, a fourth-place tie during the NESCAC regular season, and a first-round exit from the conference tournament.
"We've been talking about working together more this season," McDavitt said. "Last year we focused on our record; this year we're focusing on playing good, solid hockey for 70 minutes."
