Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Sports

By Cleyana Mayweather

The Daily Northwestern

What do a former water polo player, biology major, guitarist and Harry Potter fan have in common? They all are freshman contributors for Northwestern.

NU's Class of 2011 is a talented group of student-athletes coming from many different backgrounds who have been able to make an immediate impact on the team. These freshmen are enjoying themselves on and off the field.

Freshman midfielder Kendra Sirak was the first of her freshman teammates to play this season. Sirak quickly learned that college field hockey is much different from her high school days.

"It is definitely a different game than high school. It's a lot faster and the skill level is raised a lot. I know that all of our freshmen are really capable at playing at the level. It was great to get to play but it could have been anyone of us out there," Sirak said.

At goalie, Katie Lynch also found out early the differences between the two levels of play. Lynch was able to identify three level differences early in her career.

"Practices are longer, there's more running and they shoot harder," Lynch said

Players shooting harder didn't stop Lynch from recording five saves in 35 minutes in her first career game against Penn State last week. Lynch's success maybe relates to how she relaxes before games. Lynch plays her guitar before every game, a hobby that she has done since she was a child.

"It's a comfort thing," Lynch said.

Freshman midfielder Sarah Marcincin is enjoying her experience so far as well. Marcincin believes that she is daring like her favorite fictional character, Harry Potter, on the field, but most importantly she is happy to be a part of the team.

"The best thing about the team is being with a big group of girls that you are really good friends with and being able to hang out with them not only on the field but also off the field, knowing that they are there for you no matter what," Marcincin said.

Freshman Zoe Almquist lettered in both water polo and field hockey in high school but picked field hockey as her college sport. She received her first career start in midfield last week Although enthusiastic about her start last week, Almquist is a team player and understands her role on the Cats.

"My role is just to work hard everyday in practice and encourage my teammates and work harder to make our team better," Almquist said.

These freshmen hope to continue to contribute as NU plays two games at home this weekend - against Iowa on Friday and Providence on Sunday.

Reach Cleyana Mayweather at c-mayweather@northwestern.edu.

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