Athlete of the Week: Heather Bentley

Hometown: Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. Position: Forward Major: History Best sports moment: "When I found out I was named high school All-American. It was the first time I had been recognized on a national level." Favorite sports other than lacrosse: Soccer and football Favorite food: Sushi Favorite book: I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb Best memory from Japan: Visiting Tokyo Disneyland

The women's lacrosse team made the long trek to Japan this summer partly to show the inexperienced Japanese players what high-level lacrosse looks like. The Japanese couldn't have had a better teacher than Heather Bentley, SY '00.

Bentley's 1999 season was one of the finest in Yale history. After the season, Bentley was named to her third All-Ivy team, was a first-team North Regional All-American, and joined teammate and goalie Alison Cole, ES '99, on the second team All-America squad.

"It was a great honor for me to be recognized like that," Bentley said. "My teammates helped me a lot along the way, but I am glad that my hard work was recognized on a personal level as well."

These honors are merely the latest on a long list dating back to her days as a high school soccer, lacrosse, and basketball star in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. In high school, she garnered All-America honors in lacrosse, and she made an immediate impact on the lacrosse program when she arrived at Yale. Following a 35-goal freshman campaign, she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year and first team All-Ivy League. She increased her numbers again in 1998, recording 53 goals and making another appearance on the All-Ivy squad.

Bentley not only led her teammates to victories in all of their games in Japan, but she also guided them through the quirks of Asian life. "We stayed with host families in each town, which really got us involved in Japanese culture," she said. "The first week we were in Kobe and Osaka and the second week we were in Tokyo, which I loved."

The adjustment to Japanese cuisine was an easy one for Bentley, who has long been a fan of sushi. "They would eat strange things sometimes, like salad for breakfast, but most of the time the food was great," she said. Other highlights of the trip included visiting Tokyo Disney-land and riding the famed bullet train past Mount Fuji and seeing Buddhist temples passing by from the windows.

With most of the starters returning from a team that narrowly missed winning the Ivy title and gaining an NCAA tournament berth and the arrival of a talented group of freshman, Bentley is excited about the team's chances this year.

"We have our best chance in years to finally get that NCAA berth," Bentley said. "We've been getting closer every year, moving one step closer each year. I think that this is the year that we may take the final step." After leading her team 6,000 miles, leading them to an Ivy title should be a cinch.

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