A group of Kenyon College student-athletes learned earlier this month that some things are more important than field hockey practice, even the day before a game that could eliminate the team from the conference playoffs.

About half an hour before practice was to begin November 2, the day the nation flocked to the polls to cast political ballots, Kenyon coach Robin Cash received a frantic phone call from a group of players who were waiting in one of Ohio's many long lines to vote.

"Two of the starters called and said, 'Coach, we're in line. What should we do?' " Cash said. "I told them to stay there and we'd cancel practice."

So Kenyon student-athletes Maggie Hill and Liz Aragona, and, in another part of the line, Sarah Pfeifer and Liz Lewis, continued to wait. They waited for nine hours before they had the opportunity to cast their ballots.

Back at her office, Cash sent out an e-mail urging her players to prepare mentally for the game, visualizing their success.

"We're pretty much like that. We do a lot of mental preparation; we've gone over that kind of stuff. We're ready to go," Cash said.

This wasn't the first time Cash altered the practice schedule to allow her players the chance to participate in the democratic process. Earlier in the season, presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. John Kerry came through town, and practice ended early that day to allow the student-athletes the opportunity to hear him speak.

"Field hockey should be something that enhances everything you do. If it doesn't, then maybe you should rethink that," Cash said. "It's just part of the big picture for me."

Being part of the election was important to the players as well. Cash said most voted, many before Election Day, by absentee ballot. Aragona, a senior forward, was one of the players who waited most of the day in line in Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

"This election I think many people realized was huge. People were really divided on who they were going to vote for," she said. "Most people couldn't even see how others would vote for the opposing candidate. ... It was important to vote because it shows fellow students as well as other schools and our nation that it is important. With our team missing practice, we demonstrated to the community and to the nation that it is important to cast your vote."

Cash was proud of her players, and after they won their semifinal game against conference rival Oberlin College the day after the election, she was even more proud.

"They were incredibly focused. The energy really made a difference," Cash said.

Aragona remembers the energy well -- the players couldn't stop talking about the Election Day events, including co-captain Maggie Hill's appearance on the Today Show and Sen. John Edwards citing field hockey in his introduction to Kerry's concession speech.

"We all looked around and somebody said, 'Let's focus on the game for the next two hours,'" Aragona said. "We all redirected the adrenaline into our game. After winning we all felt like we were walking on air. It was unbelievable."

The players rallied together to a 3-0 win over Oberlin, a team they had lost to just 10 days earlier. The victory earned them a spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference championship game against Wittenberg University. Wittenberg was unbeaten at home, the only turf field in the conference. The Kenyon players played hard, but lost, 4-2, at the November 6 game at Wittenberg. Despite the loss, Cash was still proud of her players.

"What a season we had!" she said.

A team vote would have unanimously supported Cash's comment.