For such a little team, there sure are great expectations.
Despite the Penn softball team entering the 2008 season with only fourteen players, fifth-year coach Leslie King says this year's is the "most talented group that we've had here in my time at Penn."
The goal is simple and clear: the Ivy crown.
"We're definitely looking to win the Ivy League championship," senior captain and 2007 Ivy League Player of the Year Annie Kinsey said. "We've added speed and power so our expectations are pretty high."
Last season, the Quakers made a remarkable turnaround, finishing with their first winning season since 1982. Their 23 victories (in 42 games) were an all-time high for the program. Yet, they couldn't top off their sundae with a cherry; the Quakers lost the best-of-three Ancient Eight championship to Harvard.
Since then, 11 players have graduated and three more are no longer on the roster. That leaves only six returning. The other eight are freshman - five or six of whom will start. King is not worried about their ability or composure.
"I've been pleasantly surprised at how well the freshmen adjusted to the level of play," King said. "They did such a good job in [scrimmages in] the fall, and they've been looking very good in practice."
The Quakers expect to field the strongest, deepest pitching in their 34-year history; they have four legitimate starting pitchers, a program first.
Junior Emily Denstedt, the only returning pitcher, will be counted on to lead the young staff.
They will also have a speedy outfield and a strong middle infield - Penn led the nation in double plays per game for most of 2007.
The main uncertainty is in Penn's offensive power.
"We need the freshmen to hit," Kinsey said. "Our pitchers are doing well so far in practice, so I think it's going to come down to our hitting showing up."
No one questions Kinsey's abilities at the plate. She set the bar high last season, when she hit .450, slugged .786, and had a .519 on-base percentage.
"She is a hitting machine," King said.
But with inexperienced players around her, King fears that nobody will pitch to her.
King said that she would not reveal her starting lineup before telling her players. But Kinsey will be joined by another former Ivy Player of the Year, fellow senior captain Christina Khosravi. She took the title in 2006, when she hit .407 with five home runs. In 2007, she batted .296 with six round-trippers.
The expectations may be high, but the pressure is surprisingly low.
"I think that there's pressure from our coaches but I don't feel like there's pressure from outside of our team," freshman Kelsey Wolfe said. "We're ranked third in the South Division out of four because we lost a bunch of seniors, but our coaches have been telling us that we're the best team that they've had."
The Quakers are already struggling this early in the season to compensate for their lack of depth: Kinsey is day-to-day with a sore back, and freshman Hilary Sheridan is out with mononucleosis.
"My main concern is depth and health," King said.
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