A Minutewoman by any other name

Women's Soccer
Domenic Poli

Baseball immortal George Herman Ruth was more commonly known by his nickname, "Babe." Legendary defensive lineman Ed Jones was called “Too Tall.” And college basketball great Pete Maravich was “Pistol Pete.”

For as long as professional sports have been familiarized in American living rooms thanks to the invention of television, certain athletes have had nicknames bestowed upon them with which their coaches, teammates and loving fans and friends refer to them. And the Massachusetts women’s soccer team is no different.

Almost as soon as they sign a letter of intent with the Maroon and White, incoming female soccer stars have a playful pseudonym given to them by UMass coach Jim Rudy. He said he likes nicknames not only because they help him reach a personal level with his players, but they also make opposing players confused when he shouts instructions from the sidelines addressed to someone with a name that is not listed the roster.

Here is a list of Rudy’s nicknames for each of his Minutewomen and how they earned them:

Junior forward Vanessa Patry (a.k.a. Buckey)- “The nickname Buckey came from her initials, which are V.P., which is short for vice president. And what did the vice president (Dick Cheney) do to his best buddy? He hit him with buckshot. And, you know what, she (understood it). It takes a stretch of the imagination to that and she got it.”

Senior midfielder Jenny Roehrig (a.k.a. J-RO)- “There’s a J-RO… there’s an A-Rod, so that’s where (she) got (hers). (That) was obvious.”

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Kristin Walker- “Walker’s just Walker. In fact, nobody knows her by ‘Kristin.’ Her mom said something about ‘Kristin this or that’ – I didn’t know who she was talking about.”

Senior midfielder/defender Kaelyn Caldwell (a.k.a. Mini)- “When I first saw her I thought she was sort of a small kid. She plays big but I thought she was a small kid so I called her ‘Mini.’

Senior forward Britt Canfield (a.k.a. Granny)- “I call her ‘Granny’ sometimes because she’s from Granville, (Mass.)” Her official name is ‘Brittney,’ but she is always addressed as ‘Granny’ or, more commonly, ‘Britt.’

Senior goalkeeper Melissa Jubinville (a.k.a. MoLiss)- “It’s sort of a sub-in for ‘Molissa,’ because they talk a little differently in the South, you see [Though he doesn’t have a southern accent, Rudy was born in Washington D.C.]. You can’t have a ‘MELissa,’ you got to have a “MOlissa.’ And we already had a Melissa, we had Melissa Toulouse (when Jubinville transferred from St. Anselm).”

Senior midfielder/defender Christina Nunes (a.k.a. Nunezy)- “The players will call her that.”

Senior midfielder/defender Tina Rodriguez (T-Rod)- [Same reason as Alex Rodriguez]

Junior defender Melissa Toulouse (a.k.a. Mel or Melacious)- “(‘Melacious’) is the antithesis of who she is. A malicious person is a bad person and Mel is just a happy-go-lucky, good person. It’s being facetious.”

Sophomore forward Cristina Adams (a.k.a. Young Adams)- “Because she’s young.”

Redshirt sophomore defender Amy Ballew (a.k.a. Lew)- “I call her Lew and I call her Amy.”

Sophomore forward Jacquelyn Desjardins (a.k.a. DJ)- “I call her ‘DJ’ for Desjardins (French for ‘of the gardens’). I love French names. My wife is French Canadian.”

Sophomore midfielder Meghan Gould (a.k.a. Lesley)- “She was on crutches a lot of last year [after undergoing two leg surgeries] and her nickname was ‘Limp-along Lesley.’ [Rudy picked ‘Lesley’ because it is an alliteration of ‘Limp-along’]

Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Luckey- “I don’t have one (for her). When you’re Luckey (lucky) you don’t need a nickname.”

Sophomore midfielder/forward Katie Ruggles (a.k.a. Rugg)- “It’s abbreviated and it’s quick.”

Sophomore forward Sydney Stoll (a.k.a. Syd the Kid)- [She got the nickname when she was a freshman]

Freshman defender Kelsey Anderson (a.k.a. Woo)- “It’s just a nickname that her sister told me to call her. I think when she was a young baby or something she used to just jump up and down on the bed and go, ‘Woo, woo’… I don’t know. It sounds good and it’s quick.”

Freshman midfielder/forward Ashley Hamel (a.k.a. Ham or Ash)- “Ham for Hamel. I call her Ash, too.”

Freshman midfielder Therese Smith (a.k.a. Tee or Smitty)- (Her teammates) call her ‘Tee,’ I call her ‘Smitty.’ I’ve had two (players) I’ve called ‘Smitty’ over the years. It’s quick and it works.”

Freshman defender Alyssa Visconti (a.k.a. Wee or Vava)- (Her teammates) call her Wee. That means we have a ‘Wee’ and a ‘Woo.’ I call her ‘Vava’ because she’s very technical like a Brazilian. Vava! Although she is of Italian descent.”