D.C.F.H. Goes North

By Courtney Tobe

About a week and a half ago the Davidson Field Hockey team set off on the whirlwind adventure that is a D.C.F.H. fall break.

This year we crossed the Mason-Dixon line and traveled all the way up North to Providence, Rhode Island for three games of competition. With senior forward and co-captain Jennie Mostellar on our team, the trip became an adventure as soon as we made it to the Charlotte airport. Although she has flown many times, Jennie has an intense fear of flying. From the moment we set foot in the Charlotte airport, Jennie was a nervous wreck, but thanks to her teammates distraction techniques Jennie made it through the flight and our plane safely landed in Providence.

Given the conservative nature of our budget, the hotels that we stay in for our away trips are more typically along the lines of a Holiday Inn rather than the Ritz Carlton, but this trip we lucked out! As we pulled up to The Biltmore Providence and saw the Chandeliers that hung from the ceiling in the lobby we all thought that the vans had taken us to the wrong place. Ginny assured us that we were, in fact, at the right hotel and that it was not a trick, but when we saw the rooms we still couldn’t believe we were staying there. There were two king sized beds, a sitting room, a walk-in closet, and most importantly a plasma flat-screen T.V. We enjoyed three nights in this luxurious hotel, and it was the perfect resting place to prepare for the big weekend of games ahead of us.

We played three games in Providence and walked away from the weekend 1 and 2. We had a great win against Brown on Saturday and nearly everyone off the bench got a chance to play, which was really exciting to see. We also had several Davidson students, parents, and alums make the trip to Brown to watch us play on Friday and Monday. Paul and Jan Willis, parents of D.C.F.H. ’08 alum Jen Willis, drove three hours just to come to our Saturday game against Brown, and Mrs. Willis brought with her a batch of her famous chocolate caramel brownies (a treat that the seniors enjoyed at every tailgate our freshmen year and have missed them dearly ever since).

Although we didn’t come out with as many wins as we would have liked, the trip was a great team bonding experience and a nice chance to get off of campus for a bit. When we got back from the trip, we went straight back to work because we had a huge game against VCU on Saturday. We put up a hard fight, but unfortunately couldn’t pull out a win and moved our record to 10-5.

Losing is never fun, but we are coming up to the part of the season that truly counts, conference play. We only have four regular season games left and they are all conference games. We start with two away games, one against Appalachian State this Thursday, and another one against Longwood this Saturday. We are extremely excited to take on these teams and try to hold on to our lead in the East division of the NorPac, but we know that they are going to be extremely tough. Both teams are going to be out to get us, but we are ready to do whatever it takes to win.

Keep following along for more behind the scenes action with D.C.F.H. Go Cats! –Tobe #7

Mediocrity, McKillop, and Midterms

By Courtney Tobe


Being a Davidson student athlete is always hard work, but some weeks are worse than others. This past week the entire Davidson Field Hockey team has been struggling with an amount of work that requires more time than there are hours in a day, making midterms week one of those more challenging weeks. Stress levels rise, sleep becomes compromised, and the last thing you feel you have time for is practice, but out of commitment to your team you go anyways.

Commitment is a core value of D.C.F.H. and this past Friday Davidson Basketball Coach Bob McKillop came to talk to us about the important role that commitment plays in building a successful team. He emphasized how Davidson students continually wage war on mediocrity in the classroom and on the field and stressed how important it is to hold ourselves and our teammates accountable of accepting nothing less than the best at every practice and in every game.

Coach McKillop’s words definitely struck a chord with our team in our game against NorPac rival Longwood. We had a slow start and at halftime found ourselves down 2 to 1. Longwood’s lead increased to 4 to 2 early on in the second half, but after Longwood scored their fourth goal something clicked in all of our heads. We knew that we were settling. We knew we could play better, and rather than letting the score keep us down we decided to rage war on mediocrity and put 5 goals in the cage in the second half alone to win the game 6 to 4.

Our never give up attitude is a classic example of what makes this D.C.F.H. team standout. Coach McKillop challenged us to make history and we are well on our way to doing it. With midterms over and Fall Break finally here, we hope to catch up on some much needed sleep and continue our winning streak with a trip to Providence, R.I. where we will face Brown, Maine, and Sacred Heart. Three games in four days will be challenging, but we are excited to face some new opponents and to spend some time together as a team outside of Davidson. Keep following along for more behind the scenes action with D.C.F.H. Happy Fall Break and Go Cats! –Tobe #7

Team Together

By Courtney Tobe

Every season has a defining moment, one that challenges everything that you’ve worked for and changes the course of the season, but this past weekend was one for the record books.

Maybe it was junior forward Christine Rua’s goal with only one second left on the clock, or Sarah Fisher’s save in penalty strokes against Georgetown, or maybe even the intensity felt from the DCFH sidelines, the weekend was filled with so many memorable moments to point to just one would be impossible. The whole weekend was a defining moment, and people noticed. The team has received several texts, e-mails, and facebook messages from various members of the DCFH community, all expressing their excitement for our team.

Although to know that we’ve got people talking is a great feeling, I don’t think anyone is more excited than the team ourselves. One of the most noticeable things about this DCFH team is that first and foremost we are a TEAM. We are not defined by a superstar, but rather we are a group of 23 individuals with different strengths and weaknesses that fit perfectly together to form who we are. Our desire to see our teammates thrive on and off the field has taken first priority this season and is the reason our team has been so successful thus far. We keep improving because we keep challenging each other and demanding more from each other in practice, and the intensity is going to have to be taken up a notch once again as our season continues. With a record of 8-2, teams are going to have it out for us. We are a target and we are going to have to work extremely hard to not allow any let-downs.

This Saturday, our conference game against Longwood will be a huge test for us. We hope to have several fans out on Saturday because not only is it a huge game for us, but it is also our STICK IT TO CANCER promotional game. Please come out and show your support for the Davidson Field Hockey team and cancer awareness. Keep following along for more behind the scenes action with DCFH. Go Cats! – Tobe #7