A fresh look at 2000

First in a series First in a seriesThis year's freshmen have had a greater impact on Penn athletics than any in recent memory. Sarah Dominic is partially right. The freshman softball player commented that upperclassmen contribute a lot more to her team than the freshmen, but the freshmen get more of the attention because they are new. Dominic is only partially correct because the freshmen are not just new, they are also talented and abundant. Eight freshmen make up the 18-person softball roster, and many of them hold starting roles. One of the overriding themes of varsity athletics at Penn this year is the pervasiveness of freshmen standouts. The rookie softball players are making headlines now and there were nothing but diaper dandies covering the basketball media guides. But that just hits the proverbial tip of the iceberg. From the moment University President Judith Rodin mentioned that one of the freshmen had been a junior world luge champion at Convocation, freshmen began rampaging through Penn sports. Before the frisbees had stopped raining down from the balconies of Irvine Hall, Mike O'Connor was already working his way towards Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors as the starting goalkeeper for the men's soccer team. What made the men's soccer team such a surprising success this year -- challenging for the Ivy title after years of marginal performances -- was not just O'Connor's 1.36 goals against average, but also the contribution made by nine of his classmates, five of whom started each game on the field with him. "It was great to see five or six starting every game," O'Connor said. "We had 10 solid freshmen, so I think our class is pretty special. This could have been a successful senior season. This is really great to achieve this and still have three years left." O'Connor's story is hardly unique, which -- with apologies to the men and women who arrived in 1991 -- is what makes the class of 2000 the most impressive entering class of the decade. For every Jerome Allen and Shelly Bowers that sparkled six years ago, there is a Michael Jordan and a Chelsea Hathaway that has shone as brightly this year. In some cases, the freshmen who earned starting spots in 1991 might not have made the team this fall. When Patrick Baker started his first recruiting year as coach of Penn's women's soccer team, he wasn't able to pull in recruits because of the home field disadvantage of playing on Franklin Field's artificial turf. "We were behind the eight ball everywhere," Baker said. "We were the last Ivy to have women's soccer and the last to have a full-time coach. Now we try to take care of people. People have left the program because of talent. We cut two-year starters. They wouldn't have been recruited now. For us to have landed the players we have landed is great." Women's soccer's brief history makes it new to the world of high powered recruits, but it doesn't lessen the pressure that Baker's rookies or any of the other fresh faces were shouldered with when they arrived on campus. Some had the opportunity to quietly earn starting jobs, but it is hard to hide when you are in an individual event or your name is Michael Jordan. "I expect a lot out of myself, and I expect to get better," said Jordan, who started most of the Penn men's basketball games at point guard en route to the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award. "If I don't have a good year next year, then I'll be upset myself. You can't come out and have a great game one night and be horrible the next night. People expect you to play well. That is why you are here." While Jordan, Matt Langel and Geoff Owens were trying to maintain the Quakers consecutive title streak, Kyle Goldbacher was standing alone at the diving board, alternating between hero and goat for the men's swimming team. With just one other diver on the team, Goldbacher was asked to pull out wins for a senior-laden swimming contingent. "Definitely my mistakes were magnified," Goldbacher said. "They expected a lot out of me. When we won by a little they gave me all the glory, and when we lost it was because I didn't contribute. I knew I had to come through for them." Not every freshman was asked to be the hero, but their on-field talent left crowds' eyes firmly pointed in their direction. The year's only significant controversies both involved freshmen -- Brian Russell becoming the football team's quarterback and Jordan stealing hoops captain Jamie Lyren's starting role. In both cases, a freshman began holding down positions ahead of seniors in their respective sports. There was a time when freshmen were not allowed to compete in varsity athletics -- for football it lasted until 1993 -- but there isn't a lot of interest in returning to those times. It seems silly to think that Penn fencer Cliff Bayer wouldn't have been eligible to win his NCAA championship until next year. As long as freshmen can compete, coaches will use recruiting to overcome limited offseason practice time in their efforts to continue previous seasons' triumphs or provide hope after poor performances. "For the percentage of kids who are good enough to be varsity football players as freshmen, it has been very helpful in allowing the kid to have four years of eligibility as opposed to three," Quakers football coach Al Bagnoli said. "It has provided a lot more instantaneous depth than we have had." The breadth and magnitude of the start to the careers of the class of 2000 does not belong to the athletes alone. Each player has earned his or her starting role, but the numbers of teams experiencing the phenomenon simultaneously is the doing of the coaches. Going after players that they think can provide immediate help to fill areas of the team has helped teams amass a possibly unprecedented level of instant contributors. There is little reason to wonder why revamped programs like women's soccer love having the Callaghan twins around, and established programs like football go after athletes who can provide an instant spark. "I think you try to get the very best players you can and hopefully a percentage of them can contribute right away," Bagnoli said. Even programs such as wrestling which rarely feature freshmen in important competitions look for athletes who can fill needs. "We are looking for impact athletes where we have a weight need, but drive and desire to achieve is more important," said Penn wrestling coach Roger Reina. The freshmen who have shone this year have provided interest in what has been a blasZ year in Penn athletics. The attention that has been showered down on them has been earned. Maybe it was an opportunity given by the departure of past champions, many of whom were part of another exceptional freshmen class -- the class of 1995. Watching Pete Janney slam home goals on an otherwise all upperclass starting offense for men's lacrosse makes one realize that the freshmen are not the recipients of a gift, rather they are making headlines for themselves through the gift of their athletic talents.

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