Alex Petrie had an excellent freshman season at Lafayette College. He was named as the league's rookie of the year.

He is, however, still a freshman.

As much as he received extra attention from opposing defenders during league play this season, Petrie also garnered a lot of looks (and instruction) from Leopards' coach Fran O'Hanlon.

	"Coach was definitely hard on me, but I knew it was coming from a place where he is just trying to get me better. I like the coaching." -Alex Petrie '21

"Coach was definitely hard on me," the Midlothian, Va., resident said. "But I knew it was coming from a place where he is just trying to get me to be better. I like the coaching."

Lafayette women's basketball player and fellow freshman Natalie Kucowski received similar treatment from first-year head coach Kia Damon as well as opponents as she worked her way to a Patriot League All-Rookie Team selection.

Petrie and Kucowski appreciated the extra attention in practice and they realized the added focus from opponents meant they were doing plenty right.

Both already have their names in their respective program's record books.

Petrie has the Lafayette freshman marks for scoring (466 points) and three-pointers (68). He also led the team in free-throw shooting (90.5 percent).

Kucowski owns the first-year record for rebounds (286, 10.2 per game). The Philadelphia, Pa. native finished the season with 306 rebounds, taking over the single-season rebounding record as well.

"(Opponents) definitely crowded the lane," Kucowski said. "So, I've had to work on finding my teammates and kick the ball out. That allows us to kick it back inside and use our height advantage inside. I've got to keep adjusting."

Petrie and Kucowski knew little about their records and though they were happy to break the marks, they are focused on their own individual progress, which will lead to team improvement.

Both players, like thousands before them, came to college needing to learn and adjust to the speed of the game, the size and strength of everyone, including their teammates, the complexity of the game and the structure of the offenses and defenses.

That is where both have improved most, and still need to improve most.

"I play with four other guys who are really good," Petrie said. "So ball movement is important and playing hard all the time. In high school and AAU, you could get by with some things, but (in college) I had to become more consistent defending and playing hard all the time."

"I was nervous about the transition from high school because you never really know how hard it's going to be until you actually experience it," the Saint Basil Academy graduate admitted. "Until you start going through it, you can't prepare yourself for the next practice, the next game."

Petrie is part of young Lafayette men's team that includes two other freshmen who played major minutes. As expected under coach O'Hanlon, the Leopards improved dramatically after the non-

league slate ended in December.

The same can be said for Damon's women's team, which featured a trio of freshman soaking up playing time.

"Success in college basketball is really hard," Petrie said. "So any success, I don't take anything for granted. I'm really appreciative of it all.

"At the same time, I have high goals for myself. I wasn't necessarily aware of any records. I'm just trying to play the best that I can and help us win."

	"We can beat any team if we can execute, and getting everybody to contribute is really important to our success, so that's the main goal." -Natalie Kucowski '21

Kucowski draws inspiration and constructive criticism from her sister, Charlotte, who was a forward at Gwynnedd Mercy.

The two talk regularly, like they did while growing up.

"We are pretty much each other's number one fans," Kucowski said. "It's not a jealousy thing. We know each other's strengths and I think we play to those, but we really help each other develop new

skill sets."

Kucowski focused in on making sure that the only things that matter are improving with each day and helping the team win.

"We can beat any team if we can execute," she said. "Getting everybody to contribute is really important to our success, so that's main goal."

The Patriot League tournament brings the goal of every Lafayette player to the forefront: making the NCAA Tournament. Both the men's and women's teams earned first round victories in this year's tournament, but saw both of their seasons draw to a close in the quarterfinal round. One thing is abundantly clear, the future of Lafayette men's and women's basketball is bright.