"We turned some heads in Georgia," co-captain Mairead McKendry said. "We went into that trip thinking that it would be an indicator of how far along we were as a team."

That indication of progress was especially important on this year's squad. The team had lost the services of Ivy League Player of the Year Deborah Abeles and featured ten freshmen.

The Crimson next wiped out Holy Cross in a doubleheader to enter Ivy League play 9-13, confident that its tough preseason schedule had prepared it for conference play.

We had a lot of expectations coming out of Georgia, said co-captain Jen Vogt-Lowell. "I think we were a little humbled early though. Then we started to fight hard."

The Crimson dropped its first Ivy contest to Princeton, as Thoke lost a 2-1 pitchers duel o Brie Galicinao.

The Crimson quickly righted itself, sweeping the rest of the weekend, including two over Penn. Freshman Rachhel Goldberg went 7-8 against the Quakers and ignited the winning rallies in each game.

The following weekend, another tough 2-1 loss would slow the Crimson's momentum. This time, Whitton could not get any run support against the lowly Columbia Lions. The Crimson stormed back to take the second game.

In a preview of the NCAA showdown that was to come, Harvard split an exciting series with the Big Red, as Thoke controlled the first game, and Cornell senior Nicole Zitarelli dominated the second.