Senior duo propels Knights past preseason expectations
Replacing players within a program from season to season is difficult enough, but attempting to compensate for a team's heart and soul is nearly impossible.
After Sunday's game against Bucknell, the reality will begin to set in for the Rutgers field hockey team.
The Scarlet Knights take the field this weekend for their final two home games of the 2010 season, and playing for the last time in front of their home crowd are senior co-captains Jenna Bull and Heather Garces.
"They've been fantastic," said head coach Liz Tchou. "I'm going to miss them so much, but they've put themselves in a position to make the Big East tournament, so we've just got to win these two games this weekend, really look to do well, then go after [UConn]."
Both Garces and Bull entered the season on two different paths.
Bull returned looking to build on her previous season's second-team All-Big East selection, while Garces was content with simply being on the field after an injury-marred offseason.
Both returned this year for the Knights and both continue to provide the steadying force the team lacked at the beginning of the season. While continuing to recover from offseason shin surgery, Garces came into the year not knowing what to expect and contributed in a mainly limited role throughout this season.
Still, the weekend bears an immensely significant meaning for the midfielder.
"I've been through a lot of ups and downs here and [Sunday against Bucknell] is going to be my last game with my best friend," Garces said of Bull. "I'm just going to enjoy it and work my hardest and try to get two wins into the weekend to end off on a good note."
Prior to the season, if someone predicted Tchou's team would be in the position it is in now, they might have turned heads.
The team kicked off the 2010 campaign with 12 freshmen and sophomores, all of which have seen the field in some capacity this season for the Knights.
Add that inexperience with a two-win season a year earlier and suddenly expectations begin to diminish and that showed in the preseason rankings. The conference's preseason coaches' poll selected the Knights to finish second to last in the Big East without accounting for the leadership provided by the pair of senior captains.
The team found its way during the latter half of the season, boasting a 5-3 record over its past eight contests after a forgettable 1-7 start.
With all the odds continually piled against the Knights, and in the midst of all the chaos and vicissitudes, the team still finds itself in the hunt for a Big East Tournament berth.
In the four seasons Garces and Bull played on the Banks, the team never came close to snagging a postseason spot.
Now in their final attempt at the conference and with a key game against Connecticut a week and a half away, the opportunity rests right in front of the Knights.
"That would be a huge accomplishment for both of us," Garces said. "We would obviously be really excited knowing that we left getting into the Big East for the first time. We're really excited and we're just trying to focus on not fate but winning against UConn next weekend."
Before a trip to UConn, however, the Rutgers faithful bid farewell to a pair of seniors attempting to end their careers on the best note possible.
"We've never been as close as we have been and I think this team is awesome and everybody really wants to make it there," Bull said on making the conference tournament. "I think this group of girls is going to do it."
