Friday will see the beginning of the 2010 Princeton softball season as well as, the Tigers hope, the beginning of answers to the many questions that the new season brings.
It will be a very different Tiger team that walks on the field at Maryland than the one that ended the season against Cornell last April. Princeton has seven freshmen among the 14 players on its roster, and five of the 10 players who started the final game last season are back.
Though Princeton finished 14-22 overall last season and 8-12 in the Ivy League, a historical note gives some encouragement. Since 2002, the Tigers have missed the NCAA tournament in twice, but never in consecutive seasons.
The Tigers will begin 2010 at the University of Maryland's tournament, in which Princeton last competed in 2007 with a win over the host Terrapins.
Friday, Princeton will face Mount St. Mary's at noon followed by Maryland at 2:30 p.m. Saturday will bring two more games against those two teams at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m., respectively, followed by Towson at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Princeton's pitching staff will have both youth and experience, with senior Jamie Lettire joined by freshmen Liza Kuhn and Alex Peyton.
The infield will have a different look, with senior Collette Abbott switching sides of the second base bag to shortstop. Also returning are Lettire, who will man first base when not pitching, often third-base starter sophomore Kelsey VandeBergh, and junior Megan Weidrick, who has played second, third and shortstop during her career. Freshmen will be in the mix for starting spots around the horn as well.
Another spot that will be anchored by a freshman is behind the plate, with rookie Sarah Rounsifer taking over as the primary catcher.
The outfield returns three of the five who started games there, with Nicole Ontiveros, Ellen Scott and Kelsey Quist back and freshmen pushing for starting spots.
Though many of the names and faces are new, the returners are a decorated group. Lettire is a three-time All-Ivy honoree and a third-team NFCA All-America in 2008 along with being the Ivy League Co-Player of the Year. Abbott was a first-team All-Ivy honoree a year ago, while Quist is a two-time All-Ivy winner and Weidrick a second-team All-Ivy choice two seasons ago.
Lettire and Quist helped obliterate the team's home run record two seasons ago, hitting 55 to better the 2005 mark of 38. Both enter the season with a chance at the career home run record, Lettire with 29 career round-trippers and Quist with 26. Standing in front of them is a former teammate, Kathryn Welch '09 with 30, and the record holder, Melissa Finley '05 with 37.
Following the Maryland tournament will be Princeton's annual packed spring break trip with 13 games in a nine-day span in California from Mar. 13-21. When the Tigers return, because the NCAA Regionals do not start until May 21 this year, the team will have another weekend of non-league games before the Ivy contests begin.
Because of this change, which places the Ivy League Championship Series on the second weekend in May instead of the first, Princeton will host Rutgers and Lafayette at Class of 1895 Field in the first of seven home dates between Mar. 27 and May 2.
