Hartl Joins Ranks of Freshman Phenoms

This year Harvard athletics has been blessed with an exceptionally talented class of freshmen, many of whom have stepped into starting, if not starring roles.

Women's soccer had Emily Stauffer.

Women's basketball had Allison Feaster.

Men's tennis has Philip Tseng.

Meet the latest addition to this list of freshman phenoms--softball's Kara Hartl.

Hartl, who leads the team in hitting, entered the week batting. 477, sixth-best in the nation.

In addition, the rookie catcher is slugging .614, tallying six doubles in only 44 at-bats.

While these offensive numbers are certainly outstanding, they become even more impressive in light of the adversity Hartl has had to overcome.

Hartl dislocated her left shoulder on five separate occasions during the spring of her senior year, and in May '94 underwent surgery.

For the first time in eight years of softball, Hartl was unable to play--she sat out the entire summer season, and remained inactive until fall.

In October, Hartl re-injured the shoulder--she had blown out her surgery, and required another operation over winter.

"I've never been in so much pain in my life," Hartl said. "It was unbelievable."

The remainder of the winter was dedicated to rehabilitating the shoulder.

Hartl lifted weights every day throughout January and February, but despite the rehab, she must wear a brace when hitting.

"I have to wear it to swing, otherwise my shoulder will just come right out," Hartl said. "But it has worked. I can play, though for awhile that was a question."

Hartl gives much of the credit for her miraculous recovery to Coach Jenny Allard, who, in her first year, has earned rave reviews from the entire team.

"I can't explain what she did for me. She never got off my back. She was always in my face. For awhile it was very frustrating," Hartl said. "But, I learned to suck it up. It made me though."

"Tough," as in a tough out for opposing pitchers.

But there was a time when Hartl wasn't as successful as she is today on the softball diamond.

"My first year [in organized softball], I played right field and batted ninth in the line-up," Hartl said. "I couldn't catch a ball to save my life, and couldn't throw much better than that."

But she kept playing.

The next year she moved to catcher. And hated it.

"I wanted to play shortstop," Hartl said. "I remember I was so jealous of my best friend, because she got to play shortstop and I had to be catcher."

Eventually, though, as she caught better pitchers, the game became more enjoyable. And when opposing players were able to steal, Hartl found she could throw them out.

Finally, in the eighth grade, Hartl decided that she truly wanted to be behind the plate.

"I started taking catching lessons in the eighth grade," Hartl said. "I pretty much picked it and went with it."

In El Modern High School, Hartl was named first-team All-League and twice won the Defensive MVP Award.

Hartl gained most of her experience by playing on a select traveling team that played top competition across the country.

Despite competing at such high levels, Hartl did not expect to have an impact ton he team as a freshman.

"When I came here on my recruit trip I thought maybe I could play," Hartl, a member of a strong freshman contingent who call themselves "The Six Pack" said.

"But after the surgery I thought there was no way I was going to start."

However, the freshman improved faster than she had hoped.

"I didn't expect myself to be hitting this well...it's been kind of surprising," Hartl said.

Initially, Hartl had difficulty handling her success.

"It was hard for me to feel like I was coming in and taking someone else's position," the catcher said. "But [my teammates] were so great. They gave me so much support."

But although Hartl has encountered much individual success this season, she is not satisfied with the team's performance.

"I don't think we're playing up to our potential. We played amazingly against Yale and really shook them up," Hartl said. "After that something happened. I'm not really sure why."

Although the team's recent slump is hard to figure out, one thing seems to be certain: with Kara Hartl behind the plate, success cannot be far away for the Crimson softball team.