The 2009 spring season for the women’s lacrosse team holds many upcoming challenges, goals, hard work and the hope for success. The young team is coached by Courtney Tamasitis. It will be her second season for the Griffins. This year the girls are assisted by Lauren Stone, a 2006 graduate of Stonehill College; Stone will help the team reach their goals by bringing her knowledge of the game to Seton Hill University’s (SHU) field.
By Anne Williams
Staff Writer
The 2009 spring season for the women’s lacrosse team holds many upcoming challenges, goals, hard work and the hope for success. The young team is coached by Courtney Tamasitis. It will be her second season for the Griffins. This year the girls are assisted by Lauren Stone, a 2006 graduate of Stonehill College; Stone will help the team reach their goals by bringing her knowledge of the game to Seton Hill University’s (SHU) field.
The SHU women’s lacrosse team is young, but growing. The Griffins have 12 returning upperclassman and three freshman. The four seniors include Audrey Vivirito, Ellen Einsporn, Amanda Clontz, and Jillian Kowalewski. The team also recognizes the 2009 captains: Desiree Palmieri, Elyse Branam, juniors and Einsporn.
The team is excited and anxious for the upcoming season. The women trained during the fall of the school year and continued throughout the winter months to get into shape. Their first taste of experience came from a scrimmage that they played during pre-season. “We did okay in the scrimmage and we saw what we needed to work on in these next three weeks before we start our season,” Tomasitis said.
Now the team looks to their first regulation match as official NCAA Division II conference members, on Friday, February 27 with an away game at Bloomsburg University starting at 4:00 p.m.
Since becoming official Division II athletes, The Griffins will have a tough schedule, competing with schools like Regis, Mercyhurst, Shippensburg, St. Andrews and Bloomsburg. Despite the challenges ahead, the team is taking them head on with determination.
Many of the team members have high hopes for the start of the games. Sophomore Stephanie Lazzaro said, “[I] think we will do great things together and we will be able to win a great deal of games as long as we work together.”
Palmieri said, “I’m excited to come into this season with coach having been with us this past year and taking all the things she has taught us and putting it all out on the field.”
An important goal the team strives for is utilizing their skills and playing with heart. The 2008 season was a building year for many of the players and they have come a long way. After a record of 4-13 last season, Tamasitis would like to see better results this year. “We need to always work on our stick skills and work on our consistency and patience during a game.”
The team’s improvement will bring them closer to another goal of making it to the East Coast Conference sometime in the near future. Branam, as a captain, has high expectations of her team and her teammates. “We are a much stronger team this year. One thing [people] will see when attending our games is the heart and effort that we have. We are going to be intense this season,” she said.
With a solid defense and a new intensity from the players, SHU can expect great things from the women’s lacrosse team this spring. Support the girls at their first home game on March 1 at noon, where they will play Holy Family.