Somewhere, amid working on hitting, pitching and fielding, the women's club softball team finds time to organize and run multiple intercollegiate tournaments each year.
Last weekend, the club softball team hosted an eight-team tournament at The Park. Teams from all over the East Coast -- from Princeton to North Carolina -- attended along with their families and fans.
The two-day event was successful for the Virginia host team, especially on the field. After winning two and tying one on the first day, Virginia swept through day two's bracket, getting by East Carolina, Duke and James Madison Sunday to win the tournament.
"This year, we've been doing really well," fourth-year president and pitcher Jaime Wisegarver said. "We played a one-day tournament at Virginia Tech last Sunday, where we won three out of our four games."
Despite the team's good fall season, Wisegarver was quick to note that the real measuring stick for her team's success doesn't happen while leaves fall in autumn. For softball, it's the spring season that really counts.
"Softball players call the fall season 'fall ball,'" Wisegarver said. "The spring is the real season. We play a lot more in the spring. A lot more."
The women's club team has had recent success in the spring, too. Despite missing out on traveling to nationals in California last year, the team finished third at nationals two years ago, hosted by Virginia Tech. The year prior, the team went to nationals at Miami of Ohio, where they played very well, Wisegarver said.
This year, the team has pinned a trip to Annapolis on their calendar where Navy will play host to the major national teams on the East Coast.
"In the years I've been here, we've never had a losing season," third-year vice-president Casey Smith said.
What's remarkable about the team is that while it gets results from its players on the field, it also divvies out most of the responsibilities for running the club team to the players. The players handle almost all of the team's administrative dirty work, from contacting other club teams to taking pictures. Even team coach James Nelson, a third-year student, has many administrative duties.
"We run our own practices twice a week," Wisegarver said. "James comes and travels with us to all our tournaments."
The team recruits new players in early fall each year.
"I think we had 20 try out, and we kept five," Smith said.
Now that the fall tournament is over, the team can plan another big task, running their annual spring tournament. Last year, the club team attracted 12 teams in a pre-nationals event.
"We try to host two big tournaments, one in the fall and one in the spring," Wisegarver said. "After you send out e-mails to all the other teams, whoever can afford it comes down. It's all organized by the students. T.J. would love it."
With the logistical aspects of running a club team aside, club teams likely just want to play and have fun. For club softball, the players are talented enough to translate the love of their game into success on the softball field.
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