A STEP BACK IN TIME

Field hockey and softball alumni return to campus to celebrate the 30th anniversary of these athletic programs, commemorate their growth and success, and share lasting memories with the players who will carry on the tradition of women’s athletics at Clark.

By Dalya Qualls

“Take a step back in time with me, if you will…” said long-time head coach Linda Wage, “Jimmy Carter was President…the federal minimum wage was $2.65…we danced to the Bee Gees and watched Dynasty on TV…the Yankee’s won the World Series – again…and in Worcester, Massachusetts, history was made as Clark University formed its first-ever women's athletic field teams”

Last April, 176 current and former players, coaches, administrators, parents and friends flocked back to campus in celebration of the 30th Anniversary for Clark field hockey and softball.

“We had an amazing array of alumni attend the event, including some of the founding members, who were instrumental in developing both programs at Clark,” says Wage, the 20- and 23-year veteran coach of the softball and field hockey teams, respectively. “This gala gave us the opportunity to reconnect with alumni and celebrate their achievements.”

One key player in the movement for change was then coordinator of Women’s Athletics and Class of 1995 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Pat Hassett. She laid down the groundwork for women athletes at Clark and returned that April night to see the fruits of her labor. Wage called it “a return on an investment.” An investment that has yielded: a total of 235 field hockey players since the program’s inception (an achievement considering only eight attended the first practice in 1977; an increase from a 1978 five-game softball schedule to a modern-day 33-game slate; three field hockey players featured in Sports Illustrated magazine; a professional softball player – the only Division III athlete in the nation to have played in the pros; and Clark’s first-ever NCAA Statistical Softball Champion for RBI.

No one was more impressed with how far both programs had come than Betty Jenewin, Clark’s very first field hockey coach.

“How marvelous it was for me to watch and listen to how the field hockey program has grown and the effect Linda (Wage) has had on it,” expressed Jenewin, who coached the 1977 squad. “I was so very grateful that the players from the early years got the chance to tell the story of what it was like in the beginning.”

Nancy Barrett ’79, a former field hockey and softball captain, and Elyse Darefsky ’79, a softball graduate, were two of the first keynote speakers of the evening. They paid homage to those who played prior to the Dolan Field House, lighted astro-turf fields, O’Brien, the Bistro or Blackstone Hall, calling them the “pioneers” of both sports.

Darefsky acknowledged that she never fathomed they could be considered trailblazers. “I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with the first Clark women graduates from the class of 1946, in particular the first women’s basketball team,” she said. “It dawned on me that as I look to those women as true pioneers at Clark, so too might some of the younger classes look at us. We had never given much thought to our place in the history of Clark Athletics, but that night made us pause for a moment. I’m sure I can speak for all of us when I say, it made us feel very proud of our accomplishments.”

With Tilton Hall adorned in Scarlet and White, old fashion uniforms and outdated equipment, picture and newspaper displays of years past, laughter and chatter, it was evident that, despite the generational gap, camaraderie was the common thread.

“It is a rare yet wonderful occasion when you can gather people who share the same passion and love for the game,” said Julie Mazeika ’03, who sits eighth on Clark field hockey’s all-time scoring list (41-14-96). “The universal theme that tied us all together in honoring Clark was the athletics that helped define our college careers.”

“I’m still finding it hard to put into words what it was like to see players I had not seen for so many years,” added Coach Jenewin. “It was extraordinary to still feel the same bond held tight after almost three decades. It was quite something to go back to that time in my life.”

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thirty years later, the first woman and African American man were democratic presidential nominees…the federal minimum wage is $5.85…we dance to hip hop artists and watch American Idol…and the Red Sox won the World Series…again.

Although three decades of Clark field hockey and softball have come and gone, Wage described the athletes of yesterday as identical of those today, “proud, passionate, intense, competitive.”

“I was reminded of a scene from the movie ‘Field of Dreams,’ as I prepared for this day,” Wage said. “James Earl Jones’ character recounts the nostalgia of baseball as being filled with memories so thick you’ll have to brush them away from your face. After 23 years of coaching, I feel the same way.”

Mazeika, who represented the millennium on the podium, shared the sentiment of her coach and so many others in attendance that night. “Words fail to convey how fondly I reflect on the memories of playing field hockey and softball at Clark,” she said. I hope to come back in another 30 years to celebrate the exceptional tradition once more.”

With two programs that continue to strive for greatness, one thing is for certain – “People will come.”

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This information is this newsletter is provided by
Dalya Qualls, Sports Information Director, 508-793-7164
Email: dqualls@clarku.edu