With its entire starting lineup returning, the Penn women's softball team sees experience as its strength.
And with the opener Sunday against Chapman, the Quakers are looking forward to the challenge that the season will bring. Last year the youthful team made noticeable improvements.
The team won four games more than the previous year, garnering a 14-25 overall record, and three more in the Ivy League. This boost was largely driven by the efforts of then-freshmen Annie Kinsey and Christina Khosravi. The batting of Kinsey and Khosravi's had a huge impact on the young team last year.
This year, the team looks to continue to build as it has in the last two years under coach Leslie King.
With five returning players receiving All-Ivy honors last year, King believes that "there is absolutely no reason why they can't have good years again this year."
Two of those returning All-League players -- senior Jen Nichols and junior Kaelin Ainley -- are this year's captains, along with junior Casey Hare.
There are high expectations for this year's freshman class as well.
"They are proving to be a big asset for us, giving us a lot more depth," King said about the freshmen. "
The upgrade in pitching can also be attributed to another new addition, pitching coach Alexis Alcantara. The players say they are very impressed with her impact thus far.
King, along with the team captains, predicts many sources of strength this year, specifically experience, depth of pitching and batting.
The Quakers finished second in the league in batting average last year. Overall, both the defense and offense should be improved.
The difficulty comes in the teams that Penn will face.
The beginning of the season will be a challenge, with the Red and Blue facing tough teams like Ursuline, UNC Greensboro, and Cal State Northridge -- opponents this group has never played before.
Jet lag, a change in the weather and the lack of outdoor practices so far in the season will also factor into how the players perform as they travel across the country to Southern California.
But still, all of the team's effort and work comes with the Ancient Eight in mind, especially after finishing in seventh place last year.
"I think it's going to be a challenge to get ourselves back in the Ivy League, but I think it's very doable," Ainley said.
Most of the players realize the challenge, but are very enthusiastic about their chances this year. With improvements in all aspects of their game, the Quakers have nowhere to go but up.
With a twelve-player junior class and two seniors, players say the team is more knowledgeable and wise this time around.
"The extra year of experience that we now have is really going to serve us well," King said.
The team will head to California for spring break where it will play ten games in the Chapman and Loyola Marymount Tournaments. The Quakers' first home game will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 23rd against Lafayette at Warren Field.
