Field Hockey News Fall 2015 by Yale Athletics

Field Hockey News

fall/2015

LETTER FROM THE ASSOCIATION Dear alumnae and friends of Yale Field Hockey,

t’s hard to believe another field hockey season is upon us! Before we look ahead to the 2015 season, it’s worth celebrating the banner year that was the 2014–2015 fiscal year.

Let’s take a look at all we’ve achieved: • The Second Annual Alum Dawg Challenge was a success, with our efforts almost reaching our yearly goal of $55K! Team Yellow took home the gold, raising almost $23K. Way to go classes of ’76, ’82, ’86, ’92, ’96, ’02, ’06, ’12, and ’16. • We achieved our $55K goal by our annual Fete in NYC in February 2015! • We received gifts from 74 donors across all class decades. This represents 20% of the Yale Field Hockey Association members. • Your contributions to date have ensured that the Yale Field Hockey program could compete with the best in the Ivy League and in the larger collegiate field hockey community. • Our final fiscal year fundraising efforts totalled over $64,000. It wouldn’t be Yale Field Hockey without the need for a challenge! The team has a fierce season ahead, with key home games against Harvard (Alumnae Day, September 26 at 1 p.m.), Connecticut, Cornell, and Dartmouth, and a big away game against Princeton. As the Alumnae Association, we need to step up, too. We have raised our annual fundraising goal to $60,000! And we aim to increase our participation to 100% of members of the Yale Field Hockey Association, made up of field hockey alumnae, managers, coaches, family of players and alumnae, and donors to the Association in the last five years. It is imperative that we keep the momentum going to allow Caroline R. Thompson ’02 Head Field Hockey Coach Pam Stuper to sustain the excellence of this program. With everyone getting involved and doing her part, we can not only achieve our goal but also set the precedent for years to come. During 2015–16, Yale Field Hockey seeks to raise money to replace the scoreboard and liven up Johnson Field to celebrate the 1980 and 2011 Ivy League Championships and other memorable moments and players in the history of the program. These new initiatives are on top of the annual fundraising, which is crucial to the overall success of our program. How does your annual contribution impact the program? Let’s take a look: $5,000 ($1,000/year for 5 years) helps pay for one day of team travel— the total cost of meals, lodging, and transportation for an away game. Yale’s appreciation for this gift includes inscribing your name on the coaches’ office door in the Yale Field Hockey team’s locker room. $2500 ($500/year for 5 years) provides critical support of expensive recruiting and out-of-region travel costs. Yale’s appreciation for this gift includes inscribing your name at the top of one of the beautiful

lockers in the Yale Field Hockey team’s locker room. For family members looking for that perfect gift to an alumna or current player, this is it. There are just three lockers left! $1,000 ($200/year for 5 years) supports necessary equipment purchases, such as balls and sticks, cages, uniforms, and other costs. Yale’s appreciation includes inscribing your name inside one of the team’s lockers, so that every year the current players can be reminded of those teammates who came before them. $500 ($100/year for 5 years) supports critical computer and software upgrades, video editing software, and online game film exchange. $100 provides one player’s game gear (travel gear, warm-ups, and/or uniform). $50 provides one player’s practice gear (shirt, shorts, and socks). $25 provides one player’s per diem for game day. Truly, no gift is too small, and every gift counts toward helping the field hockey program achieve its goals. There are multiple ways to show your support, outlined below: Write a check payable to Yale University and mail it to Yale Field Hockey Association, P.O. Box 1844, New Haven, CT 06508-1844. Visit giving.yale.edu to pay by credit card. Be sure to select Athletics and then Field Hockey in the drop-down menu. You can also donate stocks and securities, transfer credit card points, make a planned gift, and give through your reunion. Visit our Association page for more information. And if you are celebrating a reunion during the 2015–16 fiscal year, all gifts count towards your reunion giving. Thank you in advance for supporting Yale Field Hockey. We need everyone to step up and do her part. Yale Field Hockey was an integral part of all our educational and athletic experiences, and this is the time to give back to ensure the same for those who follow in our footsteps. Every gift matters—let’s achieve that 100% participation Goal! Follow the 2015 team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Go Bulldogs! Lorraine Pratte Lewis ’78

Heather Orrico ’07

President, Yale Field Hockey Association

Chair, Fundraising Committee

More about these giving methods, including reunion giving, can be found by visiting: http://www.yalebulldogs.com/information/alumni/association/index http://www.yalebulldogs.com/information/alumni/associations/Reunion_Giving_FAQ.pdf

FIELD HOCKEY / FALL, 2015

2015 ALUMNAE FETE

e had an outstanding evening of food, fun, and fellowship at the third annual YFH Alumnae Fete on February 20, 2015 at the Yale Club of New York. The evening was organized by Alyssa Jethani, chair of the association’s mentoring committee; Lindsay Acevedo, chair of the events and reunions committee; and Jan Seeley, association vice president. The entire team attended—a first for this event—which also served as the association’s annual mentoring night. The team was accompanied by Pam Stuper, Caroline Ruth Thompson ’02 Head Coach of Field Hockey; Tamara Durante, Associate Head Coach; Nikki Parsley, Assistant Coach; and Victoria Untiet, Assistant Director of Athletic Development. The sophomores, juniors, and seniors were paired with mentors who share their career interests. All of the players networked with the alumnae. We saw many new faces that evening, and we all enjoyed inspirational talks from our distinguished alumnae:

Trish Higgins ’07: Strategy Associate, AQRCapital Management—“How to Be the Only Woman in the Room.” Stephanie Colantonio ’10: third-year medical student (Hofstra NorthShore-Long Island JewishSchool of Medicine) and Katie Cantore ’10: fourth-year medical student (Penn State College of Medicine)—“How the Three Rules of YFH Still Rule Our Lives: Surviving Medical School Without Dropping the Ball” Ashley McCauley ’10: Account manager at Facebook—“Find a Way, or Make One!” Lesley Frieder Wolf ’96: Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Delaware—“FromSports to the Courts” Jan Colarusso Seeley ’82: Publisher, Marathon & Beyond magazine; codirector, Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon—“Life After Loss”

REFLECTION ON THE 2015 YFH FETE BY ASHLEY MCCAULEY

’m writing this “reflection” while on an airplane coming back from visiting my boyfriend, who plays baseball in the minor leagues in Pensacola, Florida. As a result of his line of work, I’ve spent a decent amount of time around minor league baseball over the last 2 years—and my intrigue with that lifestyle never ceases. Every day brings the threat of getting sent down or released, as well as the opportunity to get called up and make it to the major leagues. On the one hand, they’re keeping the dream alive, and they get to do what they love every day. On the other hand, from what I’ve been able to observe, it’s a pretty brutal business…and it is a business. As much as you might love the other guys on the team, you’d better not get too attached. Often with multiple player “transactions” (trades, assignments, releases) per week, the team aspect of the sport seems fragile, because no one group is staying intact all that long. The more I’ve learned about the business behind minor league baseball, the more respect I have for any player who handles it gracefully. At the same time, my boyfriend’s stories and my observations have reinforced the deep appreciation I have for the tightness and stability we had through YFH. MiLB is a business, and YFH was—and still is—a family.

For me, the people were by far the best part of being on that team. And based on the fact that we didn’t have any aspiring professional athletes on the team, I’m going to deduce that everyone else was there for the same reason I was. And five years later, the relationships, stories, and lessons learned from that team still make YFH one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was actually going to start this reflection by saying that I feel bad for anyone who didn’t play competitive team sports growing up and then refrained to avoid making a potentially controversial claim (turns out I still hate controversy); but I’m saying it anyway, because there’s something undeniably special about being on a team like that one, and I was reminded of that recently at the YFH alumnae fete. There were maybe 50 to 60 people from different eras of the YFH family at the Yale Club that night, ranging from the current players to some who played three to four decades ago. I couldn’t help but think that the people in that room may not have ever met or become friends if it hadn’t been for YFH, and we’ve all gone on to pursue totally different professions/paths since our time at Yale. But the YFH badge trumps whatever differences exist between us, and I love that.

FIELD HOCKEY / FALL, 2015

COACH’S CORNER

CAROLINE RUTH THOMPSON '02 HEAD COACH OF FIELD HOCKEY, PAM STUPER

Dear association members,

business every day. The process, not the end result.

I am in the middle of reading Pat Summitt’s book, Sum It Up, written by Sally Jenkins. It is fantastic read, and I thank Association president Lorraine Pratte Lewis ’78 for the recommendation! There are so many great quotes and anecdotes, but this one stuck home with me as we wrapped up pre-season 2015. “With attitude you can determine your own performance.” — Pat Summit

Each day of the week has a specific focus:

Pat is right! Our team motto is #allin. It is our mantra. Our attitude. It defines us. It motivates us. It is who and what we are. Every member of the Yale Field Hockey team is committed to being #allin. We made this commitment to each other in January, and the freshmen who joined us in August haven’t missed a beat: Accountable seLfless resiLient darIng + eNergy WtF—a Worst to First mentality. It’s about how we go about our

Monday: ACCOUNTABLE…Do what you say you will do. Tuesday: SELFLESS…We over me. Wednesday: RELENTLESS… Keep moving forward in the face of adversity. Thursday: DARING…Live at the edge of discomfort. Friday: POSITIVE ENERGY…Enthusiasm for what you do and who you do it with. When successful in our focus on Monday through Friday, we have CONFIDENCE on game day—Saturday and Sunday! If we focus each day—WtF #allin—we have a greater chance of vying for an Ivy championship and bringing a third one back home to New Haven. I encourage each and every one of you to be #allin this season! Join us on Saturday, September 26, for Alumae Weekend and “The Game,” as the Bulldogs battle the Crimson at 1:00 p.m. on Johnson Field. If you can’t make it that weekend, come to another home game or one on the road. Imagine the support if every association member is #allin by making it to one game this season. “Life happens,” and if attending a match isn’t possible, please follow us on the Yale Field Hockey website, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @YaleFieldHockey. An #allin alumnae team means an even stronger #allin Yale Field Hockey team, which puts us one step closer to another Ivy championship! Go Dawgs! Pam

CAPTAIN’S CIRCLE NOELLE VILLA ’16

fter a strong spring training season, I am incredibly excited to begin the 2015 season! Everyone has been working hard during the summer months so we can come back and hit the ground running. There’s such a high energy and great team culture, and I’m confident that our team will dominate this fall. We also have a really strong freshmen class coming in, and they will be integral to our play during season. With such a young team, we have a lot of opportunity to build upon our strong YFH foundation and cultivate new talent and strengths. Furthermore, we are so lucky to welcome Nikki Parsley and YFH alum Mary Beth Barham to the coaching staff! They are both extremely gifted on the field and in the mental game, and I have no doubt they’ll support this team well. All in all, our team is completely #allin and ready to compete. I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of athletes to lead as captain during my final season!

FIELD HOCKEY / FALL, 2015

TRIBUTE TO BARBARA CHESLER, YALE SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND FIELD HOCKEY AFICIONADO

he Yale Field Hockey Association congratulates Barbara Chesler on her 30 years of service to Yale’s varsity sports and wishes her the very best on her retirement from Yale University. We especially appreciate her support for the Yale Field Hockey program for all these years. We know it comes from the heart because she is one of us. Barbara is a Buckeye from Cleveland, Ohio, who crossed the border to attend Indiana University. There she played varsity field hockey, graduating in 1978. She first journeyed west to the University of Iowa to work as an assistant field hockey coach, before heading east to become the head coach of Manhattanville College’s team and an associate athletic director. Barbara earned a master’s degree in athletic administration at Iowa. And then she got the bug to join the Ivy League. Barbara came to the Yale Athletics Department in 1985. During her 30 years of service at Yale, she has championed varsity women’s sports. She has been a keen and enthusiastic champion of the very first varsity women’s sport at Yale—field hockey. Barbara came to countless our games at home and on the road. With her behind the scenes work on budgets, personnel, and facilities, she has been a supporter of the field hockey team’s constant journey to compete with the best within the Ivy League and to measure itself against nationally-ranked field hockey programs throughout the country. In 2007—the same year as our historic celebration of 35 years

of Yale Field Hockey—Barbara was awarded the Katherine Ley Award by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. This honor was established in 1983 and presented annually to an ECAC women’s athletics administrator with demonstrated leadership ability, who is also a role model for female coaches and administrators. At Yale, Barbara always encouraged the competitiveness of all Yale’s sports teams and helped raise funds specifically to support women’s athletics. She was there to nurture the establishment of the Women’s Intercollegiate Sports Endowment and Resource (WISER), which today plays an important role in helping fund all the women’s sports at Yale. Indeed, field hockey’s own Anne Keating ’77 and Carol McPhillips Roberts ’81 were two of the nine former athletes who founded WISER. Barbara especially loves when Yale women who have competed here and graduated long ago come back to network with each other and support the current teams. In that spirit, the Yale Field Hockey Association extends an open invitation to Barbara to come back year after year and cheer on the Yale field hockey team to its next Ivy League Championship! Well done, Barbara. And thank you. With our very best wishes, The Yale Field Hockey Association Board of Directors, on behalf of all Alumnae and Friends of Yale Field Hockey

FIELD HOCKEY / FALL, 2015

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE BLUE LEADERSHIP BALL President Peter Salovey & AthleƟc Director Tom BeckeƩ invite you to

THE BLUE LEADERSHIP BASH! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 Lanman Center of Payne Whitney Gym, 70 Tower Parkway, New Haven 6:00 Cocktails / 7:00 Dinner 2015 Recipients of the George H.W. Bush ’48 LifeƟme of Leadership Awards Dick Baribault ’49—Swimming Josh Bekenstein ’80—Lacrosse Ginny Gilder ’79—Crew Jim Goodale ’55—Hockey/Baseball Patrick Ruwe ’83—Football David Swensen ’80 Ph.D—Special

FALL FIELD HOCKEY SCHEDULE Date

Opponent

Results

Sat, 09/05/2015 Sun, 09/06/2015 Sat, 09/12/2015 Fri, 09/18/2015 Sun, 09/20/2015 Sat, 09/26/2015 Sun, 09/27/2015 Fri, 10/02/2015 Sun, 10/04/2015 Sat, 10/10/2015 Sun, 10/11/2015 Sat, 10/17/2015 Sat, 10/24/2015 Sun, 10/25/2015 Sat, 10/31/2015 Sun, 11/01/2015 Sat, 11/07/2015 Home games in bold. * = Conference games.

Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac at American Bryant Syracuse Harvard * at Hofstra at Princeton * ConnecƟcut Cornell * Albany Dartmouth * at Penn * Bucknell at Columbia * at LafayeƩe Brown *

W, 2-1 Final - OT L, 2-1 Final L, 1-0 Final W, 3-2 Final L, 5-0 Final 1:00 PM EDT Alumnae Day 2:00 PM EDT 6:00 PM EDT 2:00 PM EDT 12:00 PM EDT 1:00 PM EDT 12:00 PM EDT 12:00 PM EDT 2:00 PM EDT 1:00 PM EDT 3:00 PM EST 1:00 PM EST Senior Day

SAVE THE DATE

NAME A LOCKER IN THE FIELD HOCKEY LOCKER ROOM

A LUMNAE GETTING TOGETHER

Become an alumna presence in the Yale Field Hockey locker room! Make a pledge for a customizable top of locker plaque or inside of locker plaque. This plaque will be a forever reminder about your time in a Yale Field Hockey uniform. For example:

Don’t miss the chance to see our team in acƟon in your area! Alumnae gatherings are being coordinated on the following dates: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 at Columbia University New York City, N.Y. Contact Anne KeaƟng @ akeaƟng@ fraserkeaƟng.com or Taylor Sankovich @ taylor.a.sankovich@gmail.com 2016 Alumnae Fete FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016 Yale Club of New York City Food, Fun, and Fellowship

LINDSAY P. HOBBS ’99 #9 CAPTAIN To secure a top of the locker plaque, the pledge is $500/year for five years. The inside locker plaque pledge is $200/year for five years. With these gifts of support, every single time a current player visits her locker she will be reminded of the strong tradition of a Yale Field Hockey program and of her teammates both past and present. To request a locker pledge form, contact: victoria.untiet@yale.edu. Please complete the information and send to Yale Field Hockey Association, P.O. Box 208216, New Haven, CT 06520-8216.

WE NEED YOUR UPDATED INFORMATION! Please help us by keeping your contact information current so that we can continue communicating with you about Yale Field Hockey news and events! Two easy ways to keep your contact information up to date:

PREFERRED METHOD: YALE ALUMNI DIRECTORY 1. Go to http://www.aya.yale.edu/ 2. Look for the blue Directory box on the right side and log in. If you forgot your username/password, please follow the links. If you have never registered online with the Yale Alumni Database, please take the time to register and create a username and password. 3. Once you are logged in, click “Online Alumni Directory” in the left column. 4. Click “View/Update Your Alumni Directory Listing.” 5. From here, you will be able to update your contact information as well as any other information you would like to provide.

check us out on...

SECONDARY METHOD: INFORMING YFH ASSOCIATION If you are unable to use the Yale Alumni Directory online, please email or call: Taylor Sankovich ’12 taylor.a.sankovich@gmail.com 201-213-4986

Erin Carter ’12 erinmcarter15@gmail.com 484-686-6321

Alison Rotondo ’09 alison.rotondo@gmail.com 252-414-1344