Saluting the seniors | Jo Clair

    The softball team's senior co-captain Jo Clair has distinguished herself as one of the nation's premier hitters over the course of her collegiate career.

    It didn't take long for the 6'0" catcher from Glastonbury, Conn., to make a name for herself. As a freshman, Clair broke the program's single-season home run record, blasting 16 long balls — a pace better than a homer every other game — to surpass former shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti's mark of 14 dingers set back in the 2005 season. Clair finished her rookie season with a .361 average and 42 RBIs to go along with the 16 homers.

    In her next three seasons she surpassed many of those numbers, proving that her freshman campaign was no fluke. As a sophomore, she posted a .441 average and 57 RBIs while hitting another 14 home runs, and as a junior she hit at a .417 clip and drove in 51 runs while tacking on 13 more long balls to add to her career total. Clair was awarded All-American honors her sophomore and junior years, and has been named NESCAC Player of the Week six times in her career. She credits the continued success to her ability to make adjustments.

    "Softball is a game of adjustments," Clair said. "Every year coaches and pitchers find new ways to scout you and try new ways to get you out. But coach Cheryl has helped me a lot along the way, and I feel like we've always been one step ahead of everyone else and found ways to make adjustments and persevere."

    The team has improved each year along with Clair, jumping from 23 wins in 2011 to 41 wins in 2012 and 46 wins in 2013 en route to consecutive NESCAC Championships. In 2013, Tufts reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning their first NCAA Championship to cap off their best season in program history. In the Championship game against SUNY Cortland, Clair went 2-4 with a critical homerun to help the Jumbos grab a 6-5 comeback win.

    "The highlight has been winning the national championship," Clair said of her Tufts career. "It had always been a childhood dream of mine to play at the collegiate level, and I think every player dreams of winning that last trophy. Only a select few athletes actually achieve that goal and reach that game, so to say that I was able to do that amidst all the things that I've accomplished in my career is really special."

    This year  Tufts has not slowed down at all. The team is 40-3 as of its game against Endicott on May 11, and on May 4, wrapped up its third-straight NESCAC title with a 10-2 victory over Williams. Once again, Clair has been in the middle of the team’s success,   hitting a team-best .455 with 58 RBIs. More impressively, Clair solidified herself as the most prodigious homerun hitter in Jumbos’ history, breaking her own single-season record by blasting 19 homeruns. While her numbers have always been impressive, Clair has continued to grow as a leader.

    "When you're young you take a lot from the seniors and upperclassmen," Clair said. "In that time you determine what characteristics you like in a leader, and you kind of form your own philosophy. Hopefully I've been able to pick up some stuff and teach the younger players."

    Judging from how her teammates speak of her, it seems fair to say she has accomplished this goal. In her four years, Clair has set herself apart as a fierce competitor, a leader on and off the field and one of the best hitters to ever put on a Tufts uniform.