For senior Mary Grace Flesher, when one door closes for her as a St. Thomas athlete, another opens.

Flesher has been a four-year starter on defense for the St. Thomas women’s soccer team and wrapped up her final season with the Tommies this fall. Now, she takes to the ice for the St. Thomas women’s hockey team for her fourth year as a starting defender.

“I think it’s fun (to play two sports). Obviously, it’s tough because I don’t really have my hockey muscles ready (at the beginning of the season), and I’m sore for a while, but it’s fun. I like it a lot,” Flesher said.

Flesher played left back for the soccer team this fall with a Tommie defense that allowed the fewest goals in the MIAC. She hopes to take those defensive skills and lead the women’s hockey team to a MIAC championship this winter.

“When she came in, she was a forward, and we converted her to a defender her first year, and she’s taken off,” women’s hockey coach Tom Palkowski said. “That’s not always the easiest going from forward to (defense), but it’s been great for us.”

Flesher said she has welcomed the transition.

“I’m not a really aggressive player. I like to see the ice, so it was almost better for me because playing defense, you get to see more plays develop,” Flesher said.

While she acknowledged that there are some similarities between hockey and soccer, the two sports don’t have much in common.

“I think they’re very different. I feel like (plays) in soccer take a lot more time to develop, whereas for hockey, it’s very quick,” she said.

Despite the quick turnaround from soccer to hockey this season, Flesher made an immediate impact for the Tommie hockey team, tallying 4 points in six games so far this season.

“She’s a pretty athletic kid, and she’s been able to adapt … probably better than most athletes, and I think it’s just because she has great athleticism,” Palkowski said. “It (usually) takes her a week or so to get cranked up, but this year especially it’s been a great transition, and she really didn’t miss a beat.”

To her teammates, however, Flesher’s most important contribution comes in the locker room. Fellow hockey defender Maria Bothwell said while Flesher is calm and soft-spoken away from her teammates, she is anything but quiet around the team.

“In the locker room, Gracey’s probably one of the loudest ones. She’s our DJ,” Bothwell said. “She does all our music … and she shows us her dance moves. She keeps our attitudes up.”

Bothwell said Flesher’s ability to connect with her teammates has made her one of the most beloved members of the team.

“She’s someone you can always joke around with or be serious with, so it’s nice to have both sides of everything,” Bothwell said.

Flesher’s charm and work ethic have endeared not only her teammates, but the coaching staff, too.

“She’s a great kid. She works, and she likes to have fun,” Palkowski said. “She has to put a smile on my face or make me laugh everyday, so we’ve had a pretty good relationship over the years.”

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.