Field hockey recruits to give verterans some competition

Cindy Quinn, the speedy sister fo First Team All-Ivy 1996 graduate Sue Quinn, leads this year's "small, but mighty" freshmen recruiting class. She is expected to help the midfield. When the Penn field hockey team opens its season this fall, it will have nine new freshmen to help strengthen it. The newest members of the team will be counted on primarily to push the returning players in practice. "Practice should be competitive among the team," Quakers coach Val Cloud said. The first year for the freshmen will give them time to adjust to the college game, which is faster -- especially on the artificial turf of Franklin Field -- and the players are also typically stronger. Those recruits who are able to make the jump from the high school game to the college level will be the ones who play the most in their first year at Penn. "It's just a sound incoming class. It will be interesting who makes the adjustments the quickest. That's really what it will amount to," Cloud said. Penn, which finished 7-10 overall, 3-3 in the Ivies last season, returns every player except graduated senior co-captain Curran Kelly, who played defender for the Quakers. The defense should not be a problem spot for Penn, however, since they return rising senior and returning co-captain Michele Canuso-Bedesem, as well as junior Audrey Heinel. At the forward position, Penn will rely on seniors Tara Childs and Amy Meehan for leadership. Penn also returns junior goalie Sarah Dunn and sophomore netminder Kari Dennis for the last line of defense. In the midfield, the team's other co-captain, speedy senior Emmy Hansel, anchors a strong returning unit that includes her classmate Erica Childs. For most of the rising seniors, last year brought their first significant playing time. After a year of leadership, they are waiting anxiously for the upcoming season. Cloud expects more from the seniors now that they understand the rigors of the Ivy League season, and hopes they can guide the freshmen and also improve through scrimmaging each other. "We're looking forward to the freshmen class to push us in practice and give us good competition," Erica Childs said. "With so many experienced players returning, it will be difficult for the incoming freshmen to see significant playing time. "We've had two very good recruiting years so I'm looking for this freshman class and sophomore class from last year to contribute and establish themselves," Cloud said. One freshman who is expected to make a sudden impact is Cindy Quinn. She is the younger sister of 1996 College graduate Sue Quinn, who was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy performer and an honorable mention All-American in her senior year at Penn. Cloud sees a lot of the same potential in the younger Quinn, who will probably see action in the midfield. "She's cool, calm, and collected on the field," said Cloud, who has a 17-17 record after two seasons at the helm of the Red and Blue. "She's very quick and has a lot of speed, which we've been lacking. She sees the game very well, and her skills are very good. She's played a lot of hockey. She comes from experience." Overall, Cloud is bringing in nine freshmen -- a class she described as "small, but mighty" -- in hopes that they will develop into the same type of cohesive unit that this year's senior class has become. But this freshman class should have more time to ease into a leadership role i,n contrast to the senior class which last year not only saw its first significant minutes of action, but also was forced to assume the team's leadership due to the presence of just one senior. "We're a really close-knit team," Meehan said. "We're hoping the freshmen can contribute to the team, but we have a lot of good sophomores and juniors so there won't be a lot of pressure on them." Much of the recruiting class is geared toward the midfield or defensive positions. Those freshmen expected to play defense are Lauren Cornew, Amna Nawaz, Dominique Pichard, and Cabanne Schlafly. Midfielders are Bess Freedlander and Quinn. The two recruits for goalie are Alison Friedman and Ryan Matthews, and the lone forward recruit is Christy Plower. In the summer before the beginning of the season, local players readied themselves for the upcoming season by playing pick-up games and lifting and running. On Mondays and Wednesdays, players from the Philadelphia area gather at Franklin Field to play, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, games are held at St. Joseph's University. In their preparation, the returning players continue to look forward to next year. "We are going to have a solid team and there's going to be a lot of intrasquad competition for positions," Meehan said. "[The freshmen] will fit in very nicely. It's just a matter of how they'll handle the transition and how comfortable they are," Cloud added.