As seniors Megan Tancill and Marissa Mersch wrapped up their Wisconsin softball careers this past weekend and now reflect on the past four seasons, they will certainly have a lot of fond memories to look back on.
As part of a senior class with the second-most victories in program history, Tancill and Mersch contributed to more than 130 wins, 380 hits and a Big Ten Championship in 2013. In the process, Mersch has evolved into Wisconsin’s second-leading run producer this season with 29 RBIs, while Tancill’s .355 batting average is good for third on the team.
But what many don’t realize is that their success didn’t always come as easily as it does today. Unsatisfied with who they were as players following their sophomore year, the two teammates made a major commitment to transform themselves and elevate their game, agreeing to a high-demand summer training program with strength and conditioning coach Stephanie Housh.
For the duration of the hot summer months, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday would start the same for Mersch and Tancill: a morning lifting session followed by hours of work in the outfield. Whether it was perfecting their swing, running sprints or pushing through grueling defensive drills in the unforgiving Madison sun, Tancill said they slowly developed into tougher all-around players, gaining the mental edge they would need to be productive team leaders in their upperclassmen seasons.
“I think working with the coach Housh really gave us that extra push that we needed to really crack the line up. It really made us go the extra mile in terms of work ethic,” Tancill said. “I think it kind of changed our mentality, and just physically we have more confidence walking in after the workouts and just all the vision training and tee work we did really gave us that jumpstart into the fall.”
As a first-hand account to the progression of Tancill and Mersch, head coach Yvette Healy remembers sitting down with the two after their sophomore season and challenging them to take their game to the next level.
Despite both of them already being relatively capable base runners and defenders at the time, Healy noticed a particular lack of physicality and aggression in their styles of play, something that would take more than just a few weeks of tuning to fix.
The long road to successfully transform that mindset is one Healy believes is underappreciated and unrealized from outside viewers.
“I think the reason they’re having these career seasons this year has everything to do with years of training,” Healy said. “Sometimes people think, ‘Wow, what are they doing right now to have a great season?’ And sometimes it’s a 1, 2, 3-year project for them to work as hard as they possibly can and train and get stronger, and commit themselves so they can even have one great season.”
With improvement on the diamond comes improvement in overall confidence and leadership as well. While previously not vocal players, Mersch believes she and Tancill have been able to smoothly transition into leaders who can help guide younger teammates through the initial anxieties of Division I competition.
Mersch said the key is reminding them how they were once in their shoes. As a last-minute commitment change from mid-major Loyola to Madison, she remembers her first wide-eyed moments at the Goodman Diamond.
“I think our relationships with the underclassmen are great,” Mersch said. “A lot of people get stressed out and nervous coming into their freshman year, and it’s a big deal, but I think they’ve done a great job of knowing their role and asking us questions. That freshman year is tough; it’s a big jump.”
The role of mentor, Mersch added, is one she certainly doesn’t take lightly.
“The best players in the country are playing at this level,” Mersch said. “We keep telling the [underclassmen] everyday that they’re going to get better, and just by experience, they’re going to fail, but by junior and senior year, they’re going to be great at it and know in every situation what they’re going to do.”
Despite a noticeable lack of power hitting out of the Badgers this season, Healy said all it really takes to jumpstart a team is an impressive rundown in the outfield or aggressive base running, and Tancill and Mersch have been able to provide that boost more often than not this season.
While their absence next season will leave a significant gap in the middle of the batting order next season, Healy believes the leadership qualities instilled by the senior class will leave a mark on a promising group of underclassmen – a group hopefully ready to take the same challenge as Tancill and Mersch two summers ago.
“They’re having career years, but they’re kids that have just really overachieved with the skills that they had when they walked into Madison,” Healy said. “They’ve become better people, better athletes, and leaders. It’s been fun to see them grow and evolve and, as coaches, I think the greatest pride is that we could make the most of their talent.”
