While most of their classmates were still getting accustomed to the routine of college life as freshmen three years ago, seniors Liz Floyd, Hilary Linton and Amy Stopford were battling it out for a national championship in field hockey.
Cara-Lynn Lopresti transferred to Duke from Stanford before the 2005 season to to round out Duke's current senior group, which has been to the championship game all three of its seasons but has yet to capture the title. Now, the senior class is taking on a new challenge--their last chance.
When head coach Beth Bozman arrived from Princeton in 2003, she immediately led Duke to the title game. For the freshmen at that time, the bar was set high and their performance followed suit.
They reached the championship game for the second consecutive time in 2004 and once again last season.
"When you come in as a freshman you don't know what to expect," Stopford said. "Now we all hold our team very high and very accountable. We have certain expectations in the way we should perform."
The seniors' experience and leadership have had a strong effect in shaping this season's team. Individually, Bozman noted the increased ease at which the seniors handled the ball compared to the way they did as freshmen.
Additionally, the relative youth of the rest of the team has prompted guidance and motivation from the veterans.
"We are a pretty young team and [the seniors] bring a lot to the field," Bozman said. "They have all been to the championship game and they balance out some of the experience that we are lacking."
With their improved skills and the confidence that comes with three years of play, the seniors have begun to feel the bite of their last season and final opportunity for a championship title.
"You get more of a sense of urgency as the years go by--this is our last year to win a championship," Lopresti said. "Every game that you play you realize, this is the last time we will play at Wake Forest."
But those feelings have also come alongside one that any experienced Duke student can relate to--the pride of being a Blue Devil.
"I've gotten more proud each year," Linton said. "The first year you come in Duke is this new thing, but as you keep playing every year, just wearing the jersey you really feel a part of something."
Bozman, who began her coaching at Duke the same time as the class of 2006, shares a particularly close relationship with the seniors. Having watched them develop as players and young women, she acknowledged that their work at Duke is not yet over.
"I feel very fortunate to have had them for four years and to have had the privilege to work with them," Bozman said. "I think they are all incredibly talented but they are also great people. We've still got a lot more to do."
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