In the fall of 2004, Ileana Casellas-Katz, Corey Green, Katie Pagos and Jennie Williamson joined a team that had gone 12-30 over the past three seasons.
Last weekend, with a 2-0 loss in the NCAA regional semifinals, they left that program a national power - nationally ranked, stacked for future years and ready to build on the milestones of 2007.
"The seniors know where we've come from, so I think they appreciate where we are now more than the younger girls," coach Tina McDavitt said. "They've worked for four years to get here and I think it's that much sweeter for them."
The foursome's careers are inextricably linked to a new chapter in Tufts field hockey. They arrived in 2004 along with McDavitt, the synthetic surface at Bello Field and a new brand of field hockey that carried a program from sub-.500 territory to the national stage.
"The program is in a different position now," said Casellas-Katz, a co-captain in her senior season. "Coming in freshman year, people were excited to have Tina and there was a sense that this was a new page for our program, but the confidence wasn't there yet. We're a different team now."
Casellas-Katz leaves with the program's single-season scoring record - 18 goals this year - and tied for second on the all-time points list, with 79. She is a two-time All-NESCAC selection, having made the second team in her junior season and the first team this year, when she was third in the league in scoring.
Pagos, a four-year starter and a co-captain this year, developed into one of the league's best backs, with an offensive bent and a big hit. Williamson anchored the team's weak stick side at left midfielder and provided key leadership last spring, when the three other seniors were abroad.
Green missed her sophomore and senior seasons with separate ACL injuries, and led from the sidelines for much of her career, where she watched the program that she entered as a walk-on freshman blossom.
"Walking onto a team and having no idea what to expect and leaving at No. 15 in the country ... it's incredible," Green said. "We always knew we were better than people thought and it's great to go out on top."
