To say that this has been a difficult season for the Columbia women's basketball team is surely an understatement.
A perfect storm of events has come together over Levien Gymnasium during the last few weeks. The Lions have been beset by numerous injuries, as well as the mysterious resignation of coach Traci Waites -- reasons for which have still not been stated by the university -- on the way to a 4-6 Ivy League record.
To further complicate matters, senior guard Sue Altman has only been able to begin playing after spring break.
Altman started her college career at Holy Cross, but transferred to Morningside Heights after only a year and had to sit out her sophomore season per NCAA rules. After playing two full years for then-coach Jay Butler, she petitioned the NCAA to regain the lost year of eligibility, but only earned one semester.
Then, Butler resigned in July. He had made significant strides, with the Lions finishing a program-best 6-8 in the Ivy League in four of his last five seasons.
And although he never cracked the .500 mark, with seven rising seniors on the roster, it seemed like Columbia was ready to make some serious noise this season under Waites.
"The whole reason I petitioned to come back this year was because I thought we could win an Ivy League championship," Altman said.
But things did not go according to plan for the Clinton, N.J., native.
"When I appeared on the scene in January, it was difficult," she said. Waites "had a totally different idea of my game than it had been in past years, and I struggled with that."
Altman was able to get past those difficulties, however, in large part because of Columbia's 6-3 overall record at the beginning of 2005. But on Feb. 4 -- a day before key road games at Brown and Yale -- Waites stunned the Lions by announcing her resignation.
"I think a lot of our girls were upset about it, but the prevailing feeling, at least for myself, was this is another thing, another form of adversity, we just have to push through it," Altman said. "I think it affected us a little bit in the beginning, but I think we had to be very careful not to let her leaving become an excuse for us to slip away."
Assistant coach Tory Verdi took over, and worked hard to keep things as steady as possible amidst the turmoil.
"It's been a roller coaster emotionally for the players and the coaching staff," he said. "But you know what, it's past us now. We have a goal, and our goal is to win the next four games."
For Altman, having so many upperclassmen on the roster has also helped calm the team.
"We are a tough bunch, and I think we were able to push through this, basically, because we love the game of basketball," she said.
It certainly has been far from easy, though.
"All the other things that come along with college basketball that weren't the things you fell in love with basketball in the first place, it's frustrating," she said. "But if you love the game enough, and you love to compete and you love to work hard ... you don't change how you feel about playing the game and winning."
Verdi acknowledged the size of Altman's contribution, both on and off the floor.
"She will run through a wall if you ask her to," he said. "I think she brings confidence, and I think she brings fire and desire to our team."
But Verdi also said that Altman's energy hasn't always been put to the best use.
"We're trying to work with her that you can't go one speed the entire game," he said. "There is a second gear that she needs to go into, especially in the offensive end, and not rush so many shots."
In the end, Altman said there is a purpose to all this energy, wherever she expends it.
"When you're at the end of your career like this," she said, "you just want to suck it up and play through it."
