This comment need not be placed in the category of earth-shattering revelations, but it nevertheless bears repeating: The weather in New England from late November to early April can be brutal. In fact, it's often downright nasty.While most students are concerned primarily with getting their cars out of the snow banks that inevitably accumulate around campus, Mother's Nature's wrath takes a heavy toll on outdoor athletics at Brandeis.

Athletes don't come to a Division III school like Brandeis thinking they'll be competing in the blazing sun all year round. We'll never be mistaken for sports factories like the University of Miami (nickname "Suntan U.") or UCLA, but those of us who have ventured into Gosman during a late winter afternoon know the pitfalls of indoor sports.

Numerous Brandeis media guides may celebrate the multi-purpose events center as a beacon of light on campus, but any facility inhabited by up to five teams at a time can feel a bit crowded.

It's easy to see why Athletic Director Jeff Cohen feels compelled to send our swimmers to the Caribbean, our baseball and softball teams to Florida, and our men's tennis team to La Jolla, California.

The Brandeis men's and women's tennis teams, in fact, have been the only squads able to squeeze in an official game in the past few weeks. Last week alone, Head Coach Mary Sullivan and her softball crew had away games versus Clark University and Salve Regina postponed. The baseball team is still looking to regain the form they showed early on in their Spring Traning trip, as a moist Brandeis baseball diamond takes time to dry.

The sun is out these days and the baseball and softball teams are on the field, but the conditions are far from ideal. "When the ground just hasn't solidified yet it's difficult to anticipate where the ball will bounce and how fast they'll come at you," said Brandeis softball outfielder Sara Albert '03, "because when the fields are moist it tends to deaden the balls."

"They don't travel as fast or as far on the ground," added Albert, "and a moist field also has give to it when we run, so it slows us down, much as it does to the balls themselves. That creates an uneven playing surface."

Albert and her teammates have had to cope with the possibility of indoor practices after a week and-a-half in Florida when the team had to apply sunscreen before every outing.

"After we adjusted ourselves from playing on the gym floor to the nice fields in Florida," she remarked, "it's very frustratng to have to go back into the gym and play inside. The fact that the fields are wet from the winter doesn't allow us to practice game-like situations, because the gym floor creates bounces that are unrealistic, especially in such a confined space."

The men's and women's tennis teams must deal with what is perhaps the strangest playing field in all of college sports. The squads, led by head coaches Rocky Jarvis and Judy Houde, respectively, play all year and practice indoors for close to three full months.

"The biggest problem with the weather conditions here," says co-captain Dave Block '03, "is that we're forced to play indoors on very fast, slick courts when the weather isn't cooperating. So we practice an entirely different style all through the winter and early spring, one that's totally different from the style you'd use to win an outdoor match."

"Around this time of year," added Block, "you never know what to practice, because it could be snowing or even 60 degrees. So by the time we're ready to go outdoors we have just three weeks left in our season. That's just not enough time to practice the so-called 'outdoor style.'"

"Snow, rain, and winter just wreak havoc on the conditions of the courts themselves," remarked Block, "as the courts crack and deteriorate tremendously as a result of the weather conditions. Another problem is that the snow takes so long to melt that it further delays our efforts t get outside. Basically, the longer it takes us to get outside and practice, the worse off we are in our outdoor matches."

With a full schedule of games slated to take place this week, Brandeis athletes are hoping for some much-needed sunshine. The baseball team in particular has a crucial week of regional play ahead of them with home games against Wentworth Tech (Tuesday), Endicott College (Thursday) and St. Joseph's College (Saturday), as well as an away game versus Babason College (Wednesday).

Babson, which spent a good portion of March in Fort Myers, Fla., has won three of their last four games. While in the Sunshine State, they defeated highly-regarded Kalamazoo College twice in a row by a combined 12 runs (20-8).

Springfield College has had a rough start to the season, as the Pride lost games in Homestead, Fla. to Wheaton College, Endicott College an d William Patterson University. Head Coach Mark Simeone's squad recovered with victories over Fitchburg State College, Bowdoin College (11-8) and Ramapo College (5-0).

Amherst College, normally a formidable foe, should be far weaker this season than in year's past. After defeating Keene State University in Fort Myers, Amherst lost four straight, falling to Bowdoin College, Lasell College, Endicott College, and Worceser State College.

Against Amherst, the Judges may go up against first-year hurler Miya Wamer, who has been a workhorse this year. In the Worcester State game, she allowed just three hits and struck out 12. Amherst, however, was plagued by five errors, as a shaky defensive performance doomed the Jeffs.

Bates College, who the Judges face on Sunday, are a sub-par 1-5 on the season. Their most recent loss came to D-III Wilkes College.