The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 8 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on April 30, 2021.
By Paityn Tabor ’23
Staff Writer
Although this past year has been full of many changes, having to acclimate to new situations is nothing new for many sports teams at Lake Forest College. Various student-athletes in the Class of 2021 have endured unprecedented circumstances that have challenged them both as athletes and individuals.
Because of these changes, many seniors have stepped up in taking on leading roles within their respective teams over the course of their careers. The women’s volleyball team has undergone several coaching changes in recent years, resulting in the Class of 2021 playing under two head coaches and three assistant coaches throughout their time as Foresters.
“I think the main thing I have learned from all of the coaching changes I have experienced is you have to be adaptable,” Olivia Smith ’21 said. “Each coach has a different style and focuses on different things. As players, we need to be willing to accept the change and the new strategies these coaches bring. I am hoping that there won’t be another change in coaching staff anytime soon because the volleyball team has really lucked out with Coach Rueffer.”
Smith and her fellow seniors used these changes to their advantage multiple times throughout their athletic careers learning to make the best of every situation. While their program might have lacked some stability in the past, the women remain hopeful about head coach, Katie Rueffer, and believe that she will help carry them forward in a positive direction.
Additionally, this class of seniors hopes that their flexibility and willingness to learn in order to achieve success will be left behind to the underclassmen once they graduate.
“I think the other seniors and I have held the program to such a high standard because we lead by example in that sense” Isabel Donnelly ’21 explained. “We all were adaptable, we all persevered in the face of adversity, and learned from those obstacles, and we did that together. I hope that’s the legacy we will leave behind.”
While the volleyball team has had to adapt and adjust to adversity, other programs have had to build from the ground up.
“Before Tyranny [Miller ’21], Grace [Gould ’21], and I joined the Foresters in the fall of 2017, the women’s tennis team did not have enough players for a full lineup,” Julie Lord ’21 explained. “Both handball and hockey players who had never played tennis in their life helped out so that we had at least six players on the court. After Emma Wang [’21] joined our team in the second semester of our freshman year, we broke one school record after the other—qualifying for Nationals for the first time in our program’s history.”
Lord, Wang, Miller, and Gould helped strengthen their program and create something worthy of recognition and respect. They remained committed to their craft allowing them to transform what was once a group of separate individuals into a true team.
The men’s basketball team brought in nine first-year players with only one senior. As a result, the team’s sole senior, Sean Espinosa ’21, who plans to take a fifth year and play another season as a Forester, worked to set the right example for all of the new players both on and off the court.
“Since we were such a young team the guys looked to me for advice because I was in their shoes and could help them learn things faster than when I learned them,” Espinosa recalled. “I hope [the younger players] have learned leadership skills from me and have observed my work ethic so they can use those skills when I graduate and in their everyday lives.”
Senior athletes here at the College have worked hard to help their programs survive and be successful long after they graduate. This notion of work ethic and leadership described by Espinosa is constant among the seniors on both the women’s tennis team and volleyball team as well, dictating that even in the face of difficulty, being willing to work through adversity can tremendously aid a team’s success.
Despite the previous challenges or instability they might have faced, these seniors have created a lasting impact on their teams that will remain for years to come and the lessons they have learned will continue to be passed down to each new generation of Forester athletes.
