The softball team certainly isn't interested in slowly easing into the 2007 campaign.
On Sunday it's off to the races for coach Cheryl Milligan and her crew, as the squad heads to Orange, Calif., for the Sun West Tournament where it will play 12 games in seven days, resting for just one day mid-week and playing two games every 24 hours.
"It doesn't leave a lot of space for players to start off slowly or go into slumps," Milligan said. "Part of the reason we go out to California is to play teams who have been playing for a while. It makes a big difference. We know we're going to face good competition in California, and we're prepared for that. Is it difficult? Sure. But we look forward to it."
The level of early-season competition left the Jumbos with a 4-8 spring break record last season, which accounted for half of the team's total losses in a year in which Tufts finished 28-16, good enough for a NCAA Tournament bid. Having been relegated to the indoor cage for most of the offseason, the Jumbos are at a distinct disadvantage to their California counterparts, yet they keep going back for more.
"It's definitely hard because it's the first time we're out on an actual field," junior tri-captain Megan Cusick said. "But California is always a fun time: it's the first time we get to go outside. It's always an adjustment, but it's always a lot of fun."
Facing such stiff competition, Milligan's team will be happy if it can emerge from the trip with a record over .500 - a modest goal considering Tufts is one of the region's elite programs, annually vying for the NESCAC Championship alongside West Division rival Williams. Since the league adopted a tournament playoff schedule in 2001, the Jumbos and the Ephs have monopolized the trophy, with Tufts winning the first three and Williams winning the last three years.
Although the Jumbos have their eyes on the NESCAC crown, they are not too concerned with their cross-division rival.
"We're not worried about Williams," Milligan said. "We're never really worried about them. It's always about who shows up to play that day. We lost to them [in the finals] last year, and a line dive off our pitcher's knee was the difference-maker. It's always anyone's game. They're always a good team, but we're always a good team."
As has been the case for several years, Milligan's team is the one to beat in the NESCAC East, as it compiled a 7-1 league record, only dropping the first half of a double-header to Colby in late April and handling Williams in both games April 2.
With such abilities, the squad can only remain optimistic about the imminent season, as it is bottom-heavy with young talent, having lost only three seniors - last year's co-captains Sarah Conroy and Jess Barrett, along with Julia Brenta.
"Everyone has matured and has become more comfortable in their spots on the field," Cusick said. "We did have a young team last year, and sometimes it shows, but this year we have a higher level of experience and maturity."
"It's still a young team," assistant coach Naomi Greckol-Herlich said. "They're really having to grow up fast. We have four seniors, four juniors and seven of both freshman and sophomore [classes], so we're really weighted to underclassmen. But they're stepping up to [the] plate and making adjustments."
Unfortunately for the Jumbos, the reigning NESCAC Player of the Year and 2005 Rookie of the Year, junior Danielle Lopez, will not be stepping up to the plate this season after she tore her ACL during practice last week.
No matter how the Jumbos plan to fill her void, they will certainly miss her consistent offensive production in the middle of the lineup, where she posted a .383 batting average, knocked in 48 runs and notched a .702 slugging percentage last season. And the loss of her soft hands up-the-middle has yielded a lot of uncertainty as to who will take over at second base.
Right now, there are six players in the running, a testament to the depth and versatility of Milligan's squad.
"I've warned that she who hits wins the job," Milligan said. "It's hard to make up for D-Lo's intangibles; nothing gets through her [at second base], but whoever ends up there will have big shoes to fill. Her injury will not be the story of the team this year - we have too many good players."
Just how good those players are remains to be seen. The team kicks off its 2007 schedule on Sunday at 4 p.m. when it takes on Elmhurst, a squad the Jumbos lost to 4-3, at the start of the 2006 campaign.
