Athlete of the Week: Amanda Walton

JULIA TIERNAN/YH

Collegiate sports are such a jump in intensity and skill from high school sports that it's a rare occasion when a freshman adjusts seamlessly to college competition. Amanda Walton, SY '02, is a rare exception. Her contributions as a midfielder to the Yale women's lacrosse team this season include 11 goals in the team's first three games.

Walton can hardly be called a collegiate sports novice. A stellar fall field hockey season culminated in her selection as Ivy League Rookie of the Year. However, in this, her first season as a Division I lacrosse player, she has already proved her ability and will to compete with the best in the nation. "I just try to do my best," Walton said. "Whatever the results, I'm happy."

Most freshmen entering Yale spend their first few weeks in New Haven exploring, meeting new people, and getting adjusted to their new surroundings. For freshmen like Walton, these first weeks are made even more hectic by daily, grueling practices. Although she has been playing both field hockey and lacrosse since elementary school, the transition to college life has been difficult.

"It's hard coming in as a freshman and playing two sports," Walton said. "It's getting used to a lot of things at the same time." But Walton has managed to use her athletic participation as an aid, not a hindrance, to her adjustment to college. She found that the presence of a group of people around right when she entered college made the change much easier.

Another change that came along with entering college was Walton's separation from her twin sister, who attends Harvard and also plays both field hockey and lacrosse. The two played together on the same teams for eight years, balancing each other's play and providing support both on and off the field.

"We connected so well. I had one hundred percent trust in her. It's definitely hard not having her there," Walton said. The two met on the field twice during the field hockey season, each meeting resulting in a Bulldog victory over the
Crimson. Their most recent on-field encounter came during Yale's victorious ECAC championship game.

College life without her sister has been an interesting challenge for Walton. "It was hard in the beginning, doing things on my own, even things like meeting my roommates and not having my sister there," Walton said.

Walton hasn't had to worry about finding other counterparts on the field. Her teammates think that she fits in very well with the rest of the team, accenting the team's strong points and shoring up some of its weaknesses. "It's nice to have someone who can complement me so well on the field," teammate Heather Bentley, SY '00, said.

"She's a really strong presence on the field for a freshman," agreed team captain and goalie Alison Cole, ES '99. "She makes things happen."

--Laurie Randell

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