When the class of 2006 graduates three Sundays from now, Brandeis will bid adieu to dozens of skilled athletes.

Good bye Christine Clancy, Amanda DeMartino. Happy trails Tim Dunphy, Zach Golden. Best of luck Lauren Gregor and every other '06 athlete whose days on South Street are numbered.

Saying goodbye to senior athletes is a spring tradition up there with Memorial Day barbeques and Little League-filled Sunday afternoons. It is a rite of passage once the temps heat up and caps and gowns are donned.

This group of players is in many ways the Forrest Gump of Brandeis athletics. They were there for the Jeff Cohen/Chris Ford days, they've seen a new turf field installed, and the women's basketball program sprang onto the national stage. All since September 2002. Makes this writer feel old.

Column inch space does not permit one to mention the contributions from senior athletes in over fifteen sports. Nor would it be an appropriate barometer to gauge their impacts.

Wait until next November runs around. Who is running the point for Coach Simon? Who comprises Pete Varney's middle infield?

Most of the aforementioned departing athletes also assumed a captaincy role in their respective sports, a crucial intangible easily overlooked.

Admit it. It will be odd to watch a track meet without seeing Ryan Parker's name scribbled on score sheets. Watching a fencing match without Jeremy Simpson just won't be the same.

It hurts losing these guys and gals. With the rare exception of those who remain around for another year (Brian Lambert, Aaron Landes), the majority of these athletes have spun their last curveball or ran the three man weave in a professional context. But that is the case for most Division I, II or III athletes come May of senior year.

Let's not forget those seniors who put themselves on the club sports radar. Carly Goteiner, Alex Goldstein, Josh Levine, Morgan Marcus never saw their names constantly sprinkled across the school's publications, but are nonetheless deserving of the aforementioned accolades.

Then we have those seniors who always found many a chuckle playing Intramural sports wherever Tom Rand could find a plot of open land.

So that's it. The book on 2006 athletes is all but closed. Sans a baseball ECAC run or some track upper echelon meet highlights, '06 has made its mark.

In less than three months the 2010 athletes will be getting acclamated to Gosman Arena. Whether or not you like it, we will be having the same conversation about them four years from now.