Brine, Finelli Win Big Across Multiple Sports

Are you ready for a little brainteaser?

What do a hockey stick and a golf club have in common? To add to the fun, here’s a bonus question; what do a basketball court and a lacrosse field have in common? If you answered that they all involve highly competitive athletes, well, you’d be right, but then you’d be missing the whole point. However, if you answered Jenny Brine and Nicole Finelli, respectively, feel free to fill out your Harvard Sports Fan Club membership.

It’s rare in this highly specialized era of collegiate sports to find athletes who would be motivated enough to take up more than one sport. It’s especially difficult to find athletes who cannot only compete at such a high level, but can be integral members of their respective teams. For sophomore Niki Finelli of the women’s basketball and lacrosse teams, and sophomore Jenny Brine of women’s hockey and golf, this is all just par for the course—quite literally.

The sports these two compete in aren’t just run-of-the-mill, low-pressure athletic programs. Brine was a leading member of a women’s hockey team that battled all the way to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, before suffering a quadruple-overtime defeat, and Finelli was a key component to the women’s basketball team’s successful campaign for the Ivy League championship.

So what enables these two outstanding athletes to achieve success through extraordinary means?

“I definitely don’t think only a Harvard student can do this,” states Brine’s hockey teammate and fellow sophomore forward Sarah Vaillancourt. “It’s just the dedication and the work ethic of Jenny that helps her do well in both sports.”

Fellow teammate and senior captain Julie Chu agrees with that assessment, adding, “the overall approach that she has to her training and the commitment to both teams is something she’s had growing up and she’s definitely continued to pursue [the same type of ethic] here at Harvard as well.”

Finelli’s lacrosse teammate and senior attacker Perry Barlow offered anecdotal evidence of Finelli’s commitment. “We were all whining about being in the weight room, and Niki was in there with us just a day after [the NCAA Basketball Tournament],” Barlow says. “[I remember] our coach telling us that’s where we needed to be in terms of conditioning.”

Both Brine and Finelli seem to share the same attributes; their relentless work ethic and shared competitive drive allow them to bleed crimson on the court, the ice rink, the field, the golf course, and anywhere else they can display their talents.

“We joke around with Niki that she’s basically a machine,” laughs fellow sophomore forward Katie Rollins. “She’s athletic, she’s on top of her schoolwork and all her workouts. As a team, we fully support her. She has unbelievable talent, and if she can achieve in both sports, then more power to her.”

The key to each of their successes lies in the tremendous support they receive from both teammates and coaches. Other schools may deter their athletes from pursuing more than one sport, but Brine and Finelli receive nothing but encouragement from both sets of teammates, as well as institutional support to pursue their talents at the highest level of competition.

“I looked at some schools that offered both sports but when Harvard came along, it presented a perfect opportunity to play both at a high level,” Brine said. “Here at Harvard, the hockey team is always competing for national championships and the golf team is always playing for Ivy championships, so it was the optimal situation for me.”

Both players recognize the difficulty of being a multi-sport athlete, but they’re both motivated not by the prestige or recognition of being a dual athlete, but rather by the simple enjoyment of playing both sports.

“It’s not easy, but when it’s something you love to do you make the time for it,” says Finelli. “Just beyond the sport itself, the chemistry and camaraderie between the girls is something really valuable and special that you can’t find elsewhere. I’d have a hard time giving either of those things up.”

Brine offers a similar tale of passionate support from her teammates.

“The golf team is very supportive, I remember one game they came with ‘J Brine’ spelled out in signs,” laughs Brine. “And the hockey team is always cheering me on, wishing me good luck on golf tournaments as well. Both sides have been super supportive and that’s really the only way I could even be in both sports.”

Chu adds, “Her teammates on the golf team are awesome and they come to a lot of our games. They’re usually a bit rowdy as well.”

And while the outpouring of support they receive from their respective sports certainly fuels their performances, both Brine and Finelli have obtained tremendous gains from the crossover training they routinely receive.

Brine led the hockey team in power-play and winning goals, totaling 23 on the year to add to her collection of 16 assists. Finelli doubled her output on the basketball court from the previous year, averaging 11.7 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and setting a lethal mark from the 3-point line at nearly 40 percent.

“I mainly play defense on the lacrosse, and fundamentally, the concepts of defense translate pretty well from the field to the court,” Finelli states. “It feels more natural for me to play, I can just use my instincts. It makes the transition [between both sports] a lot easier.”

“Golf is 90 percent mental and having a strong mentality in hockey is key, especially in big games,” says Brine. “Golf keys in more on flexibility and balance, which translates to balance on the ice, [whereas] hockey focuses a lot on core strength that translates into golf with the power of your swing.”

Ultimately, the impact that Finelli and Brine provide to their teams isn’t lost in the transition from a grass field to a hardwood court. It seems that a hockey stick and a golf club might not be so different after all.