Sports

Softball

A Team on the Ball

NCAA SIGHTS: Softball coach Kris Shanley and the Yellowjackets are focused on getting to the national tournament.

Sara Dial ’04 and Tracy Simon ’04, the captains of the women’s varsity softball team, sit in coach Kris Shanley’s office with the relaxed grace of dedicated athletes. And, while the juniors are two of the main reasons the women’s varsity softball team has done well, they speak generously about their team as a unit, crediting all their teammates with their success so far.

“In the three years I’ve been on the team, there’s been a tremendous leap,” says Dial, a political science major. “The program has grown a lot in the past few years. It’s not going to take much effort to get the team to gel. We’ve got the hard work and dedication from the team members.”

Dial and Simon, as well as Shanley, are enthusiastic about the success of the relatively new varsity team. A product of a 1993 reevaluation of Rochester’s athletics, which prompted an effort to achieve greater gender equity in the varsity program, the women’s softball team was elevated from a club sport to varsity in 1997. In only four years, the team won the Upstate College Athletic Association (UCAA) championship and a year later qualified for the New York State championship playoffs.

With a 2002 season record of 13 wins and 23 losses, the team has the opportunity to improve even more this spring, but Dial and Simon want to do more than have a bigger win record.

“We want to build the program and make a name for ourselves nationwide,” says Simon, a health and society major.

“We have a young team, but we’re hoping by the time Tracy and I graduate in 2004, we’ll make it to the NCAA,” Dial says. “That’s our long-term goal.”

Because the Yellowjackets are in the independent pool for the NCAA tournament, they need to be selected as an at-large team by winning games against teams who have already played in an NCAA tournament.

“Two years ago, we won the UCAA conference title, which was a big step. Winning both the Upstate Athletic Alliance and the UCAA conference would be a great start toward making it to the NCAA tournament,” Shanley says.

And she believes her team can get there. “This is the most committed team I’ve ever had,” Shanley says. “They want to improve. With their commitment; the commitment of the administration, which affects the team; and a stable coaching environment, getting to the NCAA tournament could be a reality.”

In the meantime, there are short-term goals to conquer.

“Beat Emory!” laughs Dial, eliciting boisterous agreement from Simon. “They won the Division III World Series last year, so beating them is a good test for us.”

“With seven freshmen and seven returning players, there’s a lot of talent,” says Simon. “We’re about to turn a corner. It’s just going to take playing together to bring it all together.”