I schools tend to schedule more ambitiously. Many are also in warmer climates. In early March, while other teams play games and practice outdoors, Hobart players are contending with exams and practicing indoors. Now we've got to be into our mid-season stride by then. To get a jump, Hobart now schedules February scrimmages away from campus.
Athletic scholarships present a challenge.
I think it's a testament to the players and our ability to prepare that they've performed as well as they have. I, O'Hara is optimistic - perhaps youthfully so, considering Hobart fields a team with 30 freshmen and sophomores, and only four seniors. Our kids played very well in some fall tournaments against some very good teams, but, as with any team so young, you expect they might be erratic at times. In the process of building a schedule with regular games against schools like Duke, Bucknell, and Princeton, the Colleges have raised their profile and realized opportunities in other areas. This helps recruiting and, in less tangible ways, raises the stature of the entire program, if not the Colleges as a whole.