Bowe, who is from Hampstead, N.H., went to Phillips Exeter Academy, where she played field hockey, ice hockey and softball. She began playing field hockey when she was in the fifth grade, and took up ice hockey in high school. Bowe finds all three sports equally fulfilling. "I like them each for what they are, the fact that they're so much different to me," she said. Here at Amherst, Bowe plays center for ice hockey and midfield forward for field hockey.
Two sport star
When deciding which college to attend, Bowe had many choices, some of which were Division I. The deciding factor turned out to be her desire to stay in New England while also playing two sports, a goal which she knew would be impossible at a Division I school. Bowe said she came to Amherst primarily to play field hockey: "The intensity of the field hockey program here is exactly what I wanted." She then had to choose between ice hockey and softball for her second sport. Finally deciding on ice hockey after talking to the coach, Bowe was a freshman starter on the team in its third year as a varsity sport.
Bowe is very happy with her choice to play these two sports at Amherst. "Each fit with what I wanted," she said. "Since I got playing time all four years in both sports, I made an impact from the first year. Also, it's nice to be able to get away from one and concentrate on another." By her junior year, Bowe was captain of the ice hockey team, and in her senior year she took on the same role for the field hockey team. "After four years everyone is ready to take a leadership role," said Bowe. "And captains' roles go beyond the playing field. It's like being a big sister, for example, giving advice to freshmen on classes and college life in general."
Bowe has found that athletics has allowed her to meet many people and make new friends. "It was nice to have two sets of friends: sports people and the people I live with," said Bowe.
Up until this year, Bowe has had no major injuries, aside from minor pulls and strains. But her luck changed when she tore her ACL in the second half of Amherst's win over Williams in the 12th game of the field hockey season in mid-October. The injury prevented her from playing the last five games of the season. But this seemingly unfortunate incident actually turned out to have some benefits along with its obvious disappointments. Bowe helped out in the coaching aspect of the game, as a result of being sidelined by her injury, and gained a different perspective on her role as captain. "I didn't actually do anything I wasn't already doing as a captain. The change was that my teammates had to take my advice as an onlooker rather than someone playing with them," she said.
When Bowe finally recovered from her injury, and after extensive physical therapy, she was able to play through mid-January of the winter ice hockey season, missing only two games because of her knee. She was plagued by injury again, however, when she broke her wrist in a game against Connecticut College, causing her to be sidelined again, but this time for just five games. She returned to action on Feb. 2 in a game against Wesleyan, and despite playing with a cast on her wrist, she had a successful game and nearly scored.
Bowe has had many memorable moments in her college athletic career. In her freshman year the ice hockey squad won its first league game. They went on to boast a record of 10-12-1, their best record ever. "It's great to see the accomplishments we made as a new program and where it's going now," said Bowe. "The girls we have now are definitely the building blocks."
In field hockey, she cites her favorite memory as when the women beat Skidmore College in penalty strokes to make the Final Four last year. Bowe played a key part in the win, converting one of the three penalty strokes to help lead the Jeffs to victory. Although the team eventually lost to the College of New Jersey at the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championships, it was a great season because they never expected to make it that far. "It was definitely my best experience here," said Bowe.
All-American accomplishments
Bowe has received an enormous number of honors and awards for her contribution to ice and field hockey at Amherst. A skilled player in both sports, she made an impact from the start. In her junior year in field hockey, she was an Astro Turf/NFHCA First Team All-American. She also made the All-NESCAC first team as well as the NFHCA National Academic Squad. Bowe made the NCAA All-Tournament Team, the same year she led the team to the finals.
In her senior year, besides becoming co-captain, Bowe was the leading scorer on the field hockey team, with a total of 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Once again she was an Astro Turf/NFCHCA First Team All-American and made the All-NESCAC first team and the NFCHCA National Academic Squad. Twice, she was named the NESCAC Player of the Week. She was also the NESCAC Player of the Year and NESCAC All-Academic, as well as the ECAC first team all star.
In ice hockey, besides being a two-year co-captain, Bowe was the most valuable player in her junior year and the Friends of Amherst Athletics Award Winner this year. She also earned the distinction of being the second leading scorer in Amherst Women's hockey history. Bowe has consistently been one of the top 10 scorers (goals and assists) in the highly competitive ECAC league and is a three-time ECAC Player of the Week and has been named to the ECAC Honor Roll many times.
As a result of all these accomplishments, Bowe is one of five seniors nominated for the Mossman Trophy, which will be presented at the senior assembly. "It's an honor for me to be included on that list with four very talented athletes. Whoever wins it fully deserves the recognition," said Bowe.
Bowe has already been rewarded with a distinguished honor-the Hitchcock Fellowship that Amherst gives out every year. With this fellowship she will return next year to help coach three sports, ice hockey, field hockey and probably softball, under the guidance of another coach. "I'm excited for this opportunity to work with three different coaches who will undoubtedly provide me with different perspectives on coaching. I can't think of anything I would be happier doing next year," she said. Past Hitchcock fellows have been able to accomplish other goals on the side while coaching. Bowe hopes to learn more about the behavioral lives of collegiate athletes, including the differences between female and male athletes. "I'm interested in attitudes in athletics, the differences between male and female athletics from an early stage," said Bowe. "The [Hitchcock Fellowship] would give me the opportunity to observe."
Besides being a two-sport varsity athlete, Bowe has found time to do many other things, including acting as one of two student members of the President's Committee on the Place of Athletics at Amherst. This committee is made up of two student members-the other being Marlon Cush '02-trustees, faculty and Athletic Director Peter Gooding. The committee meets once a month and discusses athletics issues.
"We are trying to figure out, among other things, how the emphasis students place on athletics affects the College. In particular we are trying to understand the evolution of athletics and how much more important they are to students these days than they may have been 20 years ago," said Bowe.
Bowe hopes that the relationships between professors and athletes are improved at the College. "I wish that all the professors were as supportive as some of the professors I encountered here. Like with any other interest, when professors take the time to understand what is important to a particular student, they have the chance of seeing the whole student, not just what they learn from the papers that are passed in," said Bowe.
What dreams may come
Bowe has also been working hard in order to attain her future goals; she is considering becoming an English teacher. But the Hitchcock Fellowship may lead her away from teaching towards coaching. "I'm using this next year to see if I want to coach at a collegiate level," said Bowe. "But I might miss teaching high school." Bowe has already had experience in both the coaching and teaching fields. The summer after her freshman year in college, she coached field hockey at Stanford and ice hockey at Exeter. She spent the summer after sophomore year in California teaching at the Bridge Program for underprivileged students.
Bowe has also been working towards a secondary teaching certification program through Mount Holyoke College, which requires eight to ten classes. Last summer, she taught at the Exploration Summer Program at Wellesley College at Wellesley, Mass. There, she taught two classes and spent the rest of the time doing activities with the students.
"Over the past two summers, I experienced two very different teaching environments. While both were summer programs, one was for kids who normally wouldn't be able to afford summer camp and the other was full of very privileged kids. It was great to have the opportunity to work with both groups and, in the end, it only made me a better teacher," she said.
Looking back on the past four years, Bowe is very happy with her college experience overall. "Being an athlete at Amherst, I feel like my athletic career has really complemented my academic career," she said. "My experience has been very rounded, and I am leaving with nothing but good thoughts." Although she is not completely certain of her future, it is definite that whatever she pursues, Bowe will achieve it with finesse through the skill and knowledge that she has demonstrated throughout her life.