Brown was the surprise of the Ancient Eight last year, surpassing expectations in finishing in a first-place tie with Cornell.

There is no reason to think that the Bears won’t return to contention this time around, especially with the retention of 2004 co-Ivy Pitcher of the Year Uchenna Okomoro. Okomoro has gone the distance in all five of her early starts this year, posting a 2.78 ERA and leading the squad in runs batted in.

One thing to watch for: Brown, like fellow New England schools Harvard and Dartmouth, lacks the game experience of the other Ivy teams, with only 11 games played through Wednesday. If the Bears get off to a slow start in the League, don’t count them out.

The Lions are the classic example of a good-pitch, no-hit team. They’ll lose a lot of games 2-1, but then on days when they bring the lumber, they’ll probably beat you.

That’s because of a rock-solid rotation, held down by juniors Jackie Adelfio (2.47 ERA) and Megan Ivey (2.54 ERA). Neither hurler is the type to blow hitters away, but both are smart and efficient and keep the opposition off-balance.

Keep an eye on sophomore infielder Kacy Krisman. She has already jacked three home runs and is joined on the squad by her twin sister Kim.

The slugging Big Red, led by senior co-captain Lauren May, earned the conference’s automatic postseason berth last year by topping Brown in a one-game playoff.

Cornell annually puts together a powerful lineup and looks to ride its big bats to a repeat title. May appears to be the early Player of the Year favorite, hitting .435 with five home runs and 14 RBI thus far.

She is joined by fellow co-captain Erin Kizer—the team leader with 20 RBI—and freshman Jenna Campagnolo, who has been a sparkplug at the top of the lineup.

The pitching situation, however, is less certain, but if junior Whitney Smith (4-6, 3.14 ERA) and freshman Jenn Meunier (8-2, 3.03 ERA) can have continued success, the Big Red will be tough to dethrone.

First-year head coach Christine Vogt will have her work cut out for her at the helm of the Big Green.

The team graduated ace hurler Danica Giugliano, leaving the pitching duties to struggling senior Karin Edwardson and freshmen Angela Megaw and Abby Reed.

The lineup features senior co-captains Jessica Reiten, Kerry Conway, and Jodee Thompson, a two-time all-Ivy pick. Even with the trio, though, Dartmouth has struggled to a woeful .214 team batting average in its Ivy tune-ups and will have to battle an improved Penn team to stay out of the league cellar.

Beset by a rash of injuries and a sluggish start to the season, the Crimson hopes to build momentum entering the Ivy schedule.

Co-captain Lauren Bettinelli leads a young pitching staff full of promise and question marks that nevertheless holds the key to Harvard’s title hopes.