Semrau: West Point-bound Nordin delivers on mound, in class

Dennis Semrau  —  4/22/2008 7:46 am

VERONA -- You have to get up pretty early to get an edge on Bev Nordin.

A typical day for the Verona senior starts at 5 a.m. when she wakes up and heads to the Princeton Club on Madison's west side to run, bike or take an aerobics class until 7 a.m.

Then it's off to school where Nordin is completing a rigorous academic schedule which includes BC Calculus and French V. That is followed by softball practice or a game after school for the Wildcats' two-time all-state starting pitcher.

After a quick dinner and an hour date with the books, it's off to the Princeton club to lift weights or swim. Then it is time to return home to study for an hour or two more before heading to bed to start it all over again the next day.

If that sounds like a schedule only a military student could love, you would be partially correct.

Nordin recently accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point where she plans to study civil engineering and play softball this fall.

"It seemed like a really good fit. It is a great opportunity to serve my country and do something special," said Nordin, who also plans to minor in French. "I feel like I'm going to school not just to better myself but to better the entire country."

Verona coach Chad Tuescher said Nordin -- who leaves for West Point, N.Y. on June 29 to begin basic training -- is a perfect fit for the Academy.

"That's top of the line from an education standpoint and from a character standpoint," he said. "It's been a pretty amazing run for her. It takes a very special kid to be able to want to do that."

However, Nordin began her prep career wondering if she would be able to even pitch at all. Three years ago, she was diagnosed with a congenital heart anomaly, which was discovered after she fainted in school in March of 2005 and underwent a series of tests.

Barb Nordin said that her daughter was eventually referred to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, where she underwent a nine-hour open-heart procedure on Aug. 23, 2005 to correct the defect.

"This defect, left untreated, would have likely shortened Bev's life considerably," Barb Nordin said. "But Bev never made a big deal about it. She's a tough kid who refused to let anything get in the way of what she wanted to do."

Nordin said her experience helped her put things in perspective.

"It shows how much of a strong person I am," she said. "I've gone through the heart surgery and proven I can do anything. It is amazing that I went from having open heart surgery and not being able to pitch to pitching the next season and getting an appointment to a military academy two years later."

Tuescher said Nordin is in a class by herself.

"Her work ethic is what makes her special," he said. "We've had a lot of great players come through our program but nobody else had to have open heart surgery.

"That's a unique story for her, as a high school kid, to cope with a stressful situation that would be tough on anybody of any age. The composure she showed being able to handle that and fight back and compete that quickly was remarkable."

Nordin said Army assistant coach Michelle DePolo saw her pitch at a tournament in Colorado last July. After exchanging a few phone calls, Nordin said "it all fell into place."

"I had a lot of forms to fill out and essays to write," said Nordin, who played in 12 college showcase tournaments last summer for the Racine Belles and Roscoe (Ill.) Rage. "I also needed a congressional nomination, which Tammy Baldwin provided for me."

Nordin also had to survive an appeal process because of her past heart surgery before she could secure her appointment to West Point.

"I was talking to my recruiting coach and during the conversation she told me that she didn't go to the Academy because of a heart defect," Nordin said. "I thought, 'Oh no.'

"So I told her that I had heart surgery my sophomore year and what it was for and she helped me get through the process. I had to go through the surgeon general at West Point but because I was an athlete, I got a waiver."

Nordin, though, said midway though the process she thought it would be for naught.

"I got a phone call from the Great Lakes recruiter who said he was sorry but that I had been turned down because of my medical disqualification," Nordin said.

"I called the coach and asked what happened and she said not to worry that you always get rejected first before going through an appeal process. She said hopefully I would make it through the process and I did."

After Nordin made a campus visit in February, her mother knew it was a done deal.

"It was a hard decision. But she is very motivated," Barb Nordin said. "When Bev took her visit to West Point, she was in a calculus class where a visiting professor, who is an engineer, was a guest. She talked about coming back from building bridges in Africa and about all of her experiences as an engineer in the military. Bev told me, 'that's what I want to be mom.' "

And Bev Nordin is confident she made the right decision.

"Some of my teammates think I'm crazy that I'm spending my summer in the military and having to get up at 5 a.m.," said Nordin, who has a career record of 34-9 with 442 strikeouts in 297 innings pitched during her prep career. "But I'm excited about it and they see how excited I am and they are happy for me and respect me for it."

However, Nordin has some unfinished business The Wildcats fell to 2-2 overall and in the Badger South Conference after they dropped a 2-0 decision to league rival Monroe on Monday.

The Wildcats have won at least a share of 11 consecutive conference titles, including the last two with Nordin in the pitching circle, and have a streak of seven consecutive appearances at the WIAA Division 1 state softball tournament.

Nordin would like both streaks to remain intact.

"I hope we can get back to state. It would be icing on the cake," she said. "I don't take anything for granted anymore. But we want to go out on top."

dsemrau@madison.com

Dennis Semrau  —  4/22/2008 7:46 am