After winning the Ivy League title last year, the Harvard women's softball team can only hope to repeat its performance from the 2000 season. The league will be very competitive this year, however, as Dartmouth returns all but one player from last year's second-place team, and Cornell still has a few key players remaining from its 1999 team that edged out the Crimson for the Ivy Title.

The Crimson predicts that the final Ivy standings will be as follows:

1. Harvard

With its highly touted pitching staff and unique blend of new talent and experience, Harvard possesses a good chance of winning the league title this season. For more, please see team preview, page B-1.

2. Dartmouth

Last year, Dartmouth (32-16, 7-5 Ivy) surprised everyone with a second-place finish and dealt the Crimson its only Ivy loss . The question now is whether the Big Green will be even better this season.

Led by Coach Steffany Bender, the 2000 season was a turning point for the Big Green. The team shattered 24 school records and finished second in the ECAC Championship. The biggest difference on the season was the addition of freshman Christine Quattrocchi.

Quattrocchi won the Ivy League Rookie and Pitcher of the Year Awards for 2000 as she ended the season with a 22-4 record, 169 strikeouts and 10 shutouts. Named a First Team All-Ivy player, she also received Second Team All-Region honors. Quattrocchi broke ten Dartmouth pitching records over the course of the season.

The Big Green has all of its position players returning, as its only loss to graduation was No. 2 starter Stacy Sanders. The experienced infield should be an advantage for Dartmouth, as the veteran combination of junior Kristin King at shortstop and senior Jenny Harsey at second base is one of the best in the Ivy League.

With the addition of three new pitchers to bolster the rotation and a few new freshmen in back-up positions, Dartmouth brings both experience and talent to this year's season.

3. Cornell

Cornell (30-18, 5-7), who had a surprisingly difficult Ivy season last year, usually is a force in the league. The Big Red began its season strongly with a 17-4 start in non-conference, but struggled following a 1-0 loss to the Crimson in the Ivy League opener.

All-star senior pitcher Nicole Zitarelli is the most dangerous weapon of the Big Red, as she ended the 2000 season with a 17-9 record and a 2.55 ERA, tied for the third lowest in the Ivies. She also limited the Crimson to just four runs in two meetings last season. In 1999, she was Second Team All-Ivy with a 21-3 record and 1.20 ERA.

Cornell will suffer this year from the graduation of Tracy Quinn, who had the second-best batting average in the Ivy League (.358), but Coach Dick Blood looks to make up for this loss with the addition of eight new freshmen.

He will also rely on his returning seniors, such as Zitarelli and outfielder Charlotte Bromabach, who was First Team All-Ivy in 2000. Bromabach led Cornell with seven stolen bases, despite missing seven games due to injury. If she can have a healthy season, the Big Red will combine experience with some new faces as it aims to win the Ivies for the first time since 1999.

4. Princeton

Following a mediocre season which concluded with four straight Ivy losses, Princeton Coach Cindy Cohen announced her resignation. The departure of Cohen--who led Princeton to the College World Series twice in the mid-90's--marks the end of an era of Tiger dominance in the Ivy League. Princeton (21-25, 6-6) will hope to improve under new coach Maureen Davies, who won a school-record 83 games during the Tigers' glory years.

Besides adjusting to a new coach, the Tigers must overcome the loss of ace Sarah Peterman, a stellar pitcher who led the team with 100 strikeouts and a 2.68 ERA, which was the fifth-best in the Ivy League. Junior Brie Galicinao, who last year earned the second lowest ERA in the League at 2.25, will have to step up.

Senior Lori Volker, an outfielder whose speed can be an asset on both defense and offense, looks promising for the Tigers this year. If senior Lauren Poniatowski, who led the team with a .301 batting average last season, can come back for another strong offensive year, the Tigers have a good shot at improving on their 6-6 Ivy record.

Only four freshmen are joining the team this year, so Davies will need her wealth of returning veterans to ease her into her new position.

5. Brown

Brown (14-28, 6-6) hopes to move up in the standings this year after finishing the 2000 season tied for third with Princeton. Coach Chris Cochran's Bears relied heavily on senior infielder Tami Parrott for offensive production last year and hope that Parrott will be able to turn in another strong performance this year.

Parrott, who was named First Team All-Ivy, led her team in nearly every batting category. Her .431 batting average demolished that of any other player in the Ivies. Having set new Brown records for homeruns in a season (10) and in a career (22), she looks this season to improve on her already outstanding statistics.

Senior Ellie Blake's pitching should add to Parrott's offensive prowess. Blake received Second Team All-Ivy Honors last season, posting a 3.09 ERA and 36 strikeouts. These numbers are extraordinarily impressive considering that Blake was injured for the majority of last season.

Two solid returning pitchers, senior Aleana Sutton and sophomore Eric Durlesser, join Blake again this year. Sutton led the team with a 2.57 ERA last season and Durlesser struck out 36 batters in her freshman year.

If Parrott can match her accomplishments from 2000 and Blake has a healthy season this year, the Bears have a great opportunity to be a strong contender this season.

6. Yale

After a fifth-place finish in the Ivies last season, the Bulldogs (19-23-1, 5-7) hope that their brand new stadium will also boost their performance this season.

The team is young, as seven players graduated last year, leaving only three seniors and one junior on the team. Fortunately for Yale, though, three of last year's top four hitters are returning, so the team should be offensively strong once again.

Among the power at the plate is senior captain Monica Lebron, who led the team in batting average (.314) and hits (43) last season. Lebron's three triples last year made her Yale's all-time leader in career triples (13) and helped her earn First Team All-Ivy honors.

Coach Andy Van Etten will have to work this season to replace the Bulldog's ace pitcher, Teri Hickey, who was one of the seven graduates last year. Etten will look to junior Cara Denver as one option to take over for the departed Hickey. Denver had a 2.12 ERA last year. Two freshmen, Shayna Filson and Jillian Miles, will be joining the pitching squad this season.

The outfield will be mostly new this year, as All-Ivy centerfielder Alice Liu, graduated as well. Sophomore Laura Beckert will be making a move from third base to fill one of the holes in the outfield. The other two spots will potentially be occupied by two of the incoming freshmen.

7. Penn

After finishing in the cellar of the league last season, the Quakers (13-30-1, 2-10) start this year with a young team. There are no seniors on the squad and only five juniors, leaving Coach Carol Kashow with a large amount of inexperience on her hands.

Second Team All-Ivy junior Clarisa Apostol will hopefully anchor the team in the outfield. The power will stem from junior Jen Moore at third, who received First Team All-Ivy honors last year for her .331 team-leading batting average and team-high 11 doubles.

Kashow has added two promising pitchers this season, freshmen Nicole Borgstadt and Alexandra Martini, in order to round out the team on the mound. Sophomore Becky Ranta looks to build on last season, in which she recorded nine wins and a 4.17 ERA.

Kashow's focus for the year is on the short game--using hit and run strategies in an attempt to raise Pennsylvania's rank in the standings.

8. Columbia

Last year marked the beginning of softball as a varsity sport for the Lions (13-18-1), and this year, Columbia's team will be joining the Ivy League for the first time. Christine Vogt '94 coaches the team.

Not surprisingly, the team is quite young. Sophomore Allison Buehler will be the Lions' top pitcher, as she ended last season with a record of 8-9 and 103 strikeouts. Buehler will be supported on the mound by sophomore Debbie Kaplan, who had a rocky 5-7 season.

The team looks forward to competing on the Ivy level this year, as last year served as a way to ease slowly into varsity sport status.