College is unique in the world of sports thanks to the existence of recruiting classes. Only in the collegiate game can a team do a complete 180, recovering from the loss of key players simply by the appearance of new faces on campus. Similarly, because there is no parity in recruiting on the college scene, one team could end up with all of the nation's best players.
Maybe no example of this is clearer than Michigan's "Fab Five," a group of freshmen in the early 1990s that immediately brought the school to national title games in consecutive years.
And while freshmen Ali Rocchi and Liz Moynihan of the Tufts women's basketball team may not quite be ready to go down as the "Terrific Two," their arrival on the Hill could not have come at a better time for the Jumbos.
Going into the season, Tufts looked primed to pick up where it left off. The team was returning four starters, all of whom averaged more than 30 minutes a game in 2009−10. But thanks to a series of injuries — mixed with a lack of eligibility — things did not go according to plan. In fact, junior guard Tiffany Kornegay is the only one of the four to have played in every game this season.
"I had a feeling this was going to be a good freshman class, but I had no idea they would need to be thrown into action this quickly," Coach Carla Berube said. "With all of the injuries up top we needed other players to step up."
Enter Rocchi and Moynihan, a pair of Connecticut natives who brought plenty of raw talent with them to Medford. Yet while they share a home state, the similarities stop there. In fact, despite living less than two hours away from each other back home, the two did not meet until they stepped foot on campus.
Moynihan grew up in Storrs, Conn., living in the shadow of the University of Connecticut (UConn), the home of arguably the greatest women's basketball program of all time. She always had a love for basketball and even entertained youthful aspirations of someday playing for the Huskies.
"UConn really influenced me getting into basketball," Moynihan said. "I was pretty good at basketball even when I was little, but watching the legends like Diana Taurasi play definitely played a big part."
Perhaps it was this dedication to the game that made her the dangerous scorer that she is today. Moynihan is at her best receiving a pass and quickly getting off a shot, a skill she excels at thanks to well−trained footwork. She is equally comfortable from mid−range or distance, shooting 41.3 percent from the field and a team−leading 46.2 percent from beyond the arc, and is also dangerous on the dribble, using her improvised moves to get to the line at an extremely high frequency. The result is a quickly rising 8.3 points per game.
"Liz is a great slasher and a great shooter," Berube said. "She has a very sound jump shot, and has used it to score some big points for us."
Rocchi, on the other hand, grew up in Fairfield and preferred soccer. Even after being named to Connecticut's 2010 All−State Team — an award also earned by Moynihan — she was not sure if she wanted to play basketball in college. It was not until her overnight at Tufts during her senior year of high school that she finally made the choice.
"I was looking around at D−III schools because that is where I really wanted to be," Rocchi said. "Tufts came into the picture and coach [Berube] showed some interest and everything just seemed to click."
Tufts was lucky it did; Rocchi entered a team that, due to the graduation of Julia Baily (LA '10), had a gaping hole in the post. The spot was up for grabs, and Berube gave Rocchi to claim it from the get−go.
"In preseason, she really harped on a big position opening up," Rocchi said. "I really didn't think I'd get that much time coming in, but she really just threw me in there. She prepared me for it, but it was definitely nerve−wracking to come in and take the position of someone like Julia Baily who was so good and such a presence in the post."
Rocchi earned the starting job but struggled early, totaling only 17 points in her first five starts. With little experience at the college level, winning the battle down low was a tall order. Meanwhile, Moynihan came out firing. Fighting back a bug that had her throwing up for nearly 24 hours before the team's first game, she shot 5−for−6 off the bench, including a perfect 3−for−3 from distance.
"Whether I'm starting or on the bench, I try to bring the same intensity regardless," Moynihan said. "I take it practice to practice, because I never know if I'm going to be starting the next game."
The holiday break was just what the doctor ordered for Rocchi, giving her a chance to take her experience from the early part of the season and transfer it into the new year. The extra practice clearly paid off, and in just her second game back she exploded for 12 points and four rebounds. Rocchi ran with her newfound success, hitting double digits in three of her next four games, while also increasing her rebound totals from earlier in the season. She now averages 6.3 points and 4.6 boards per game.
"I definitely got off to a slow start, but with the minutes coach was giving me, I felt like I needed to provide more," Rocchi said. "Second semester it has just been clicking more. As we continue to work together and play together, things are just beginning to fall into place."
But with Rocchi struggling against some of the biggest post players in the NESCAC this past weekend, it was Moynihan's time to shine. She put up 13 points in the team's upset of then−No. 13 Bowdoin and added a team−high 16 points the next day against Colby when senior tri−captain Colleen Hart sidelined.
"Liz is good at providing an offensive spark," Rocchi said. "I'm really confident in her shot and her ability to carry us. When she's on — which she most of the time is — she can really provide some points for us."
Both Rocchi and Moynihan agree that the influence of the rest of the team on their development has been huge. This guidance will continue to be important, as Berube is quick to point out that both still have plenty to learn.
"We call Liz a ‘screen magnet' because she can never seem to get around them," Berube said. "Ali has to work on her post defense, as a lot of NESCAC forwards are a lot bigger than her."
They may in many ways be opposites on the court, but it is clear that Rocchi and Moynihan will be bound together in the future of Jumbos' basketball. But for now, they are both averaging over 20 minutes a game on a team that is 12−3 and in position to make a run at the top of the NESCAC.
But they have no intention of looking into the future quite yet. Well, at least not past March.
