Quiet. Intense. Two adjectives that rarely stand aside each other,
but when it comes to describing Kutztown University senior Tristin
Ludy, head field hockey coach Betty Wesner has no problem placing
them in the same sentence.
“She’s quiet, but intense,” Wesner said. “She’s the person I go to
when we’re in the huddle. She’s my go-to person when it comes to
motivating the team and coming up with what we want to say to get
the team psyched.”
Ludy, a forward from Pottstown and
a graduate of Pottsgrove High School, has been a major presence on
the team, which spent time at No. 1 in the nation this season and
will participate in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
Championships this Friday.
Ludy, who has scored three goals
this season, brings a work ethic that Wesner can only hope rubs off
on the younger players. After working hard in the offseason to
improve her skills, Ludy was awarded the Joshua Wentworth Wesner
Scholarship at the start of the 2007 season. The scholarship is
named in honor of Coach Wesner’s son, who passed away in 2000 after
a battle with Hodgkin’s Disease.
“I think one of the things with
Ludy, she is a hard worker,” Wesner said, “and through the years,
she has just stuck with us and has worked really hard to get where
she is. I think that is one of the reasons why my family and I
decided to give her Josh’s scholarship, and when we made that
decision, I just saw her perk up, and I know that when she’s out
there, she just gives it everything she has.”
Receiving the news of the scholarship came just before the season
started.
“I couldn’t be more
thankful,” Ludy said. “I’m extremely honored to be receiving this
scholarship.”
She immediately made
an impact on the field, scoring a goal in the Golden Bears’ 5-1 win
against Southern Connecticut. Two games later, she scored a crucial
goal in KU’s first PSAC win of the season, a 3-1 victory against
Shippensburg.
From there, KU ran off seven
straight wins to improve to 10-0 and No. 1 in the nation before
dropping its first contest at Bloomsburg. KU finished the regular
season with a 17-3 record, including an 11-3 record in PSAC play.
“It’s awesome,” Ludy said.
“Everyone is really close as a team and we’re playing really well
together.”
Ludy’s senior season didn’t start
against Southern Connecticut. It started during the offseason when
she was training and working on her stick work.
“I did a lot more conditioning and
playing at Action Sports this summer,” she said. “I played pickup
games with other elite players, so I think that helped out a lot. I
worked on a lot of different stick skills, more dodges and pulls.”
Those pickup games, however,
couldn’t prepare her for the new role she would be playing on the
team — senior leader.
Used to looking up to seniors, Ludy
is now one the upperclassmen who younger players look up to.
“It’s kind of weird being a
senior,” she said. “It didn’t hit me until a couple weeks into the
season but the freshmen girls are really good, they work hard and
they have a good future ahead of them.”
As does Ludy, who has high hopes
that her senior season will continue well into the postseason.
Kutztown faces Bloomsburg on Friday
in the first round of the PSAC Championships. The winner faces the
winner of the IUP/Shippensburg game on Saturday. Then top three
teams in the region then advance to the NCAA playoffs, slated for
Nov. 3, 9 and 11.
