Women's lacrosse team takes the field

DANVILLE, KY—Thanks to the enterprising efforts of a handful of dedicated players and a Centre College economics professor, women's lacrosse has taken its place as an official club team at the College.

Although the end to the school year will put an end to the team's activities for this year, they will be back and stronger in the fall. The experienced players have been teaching the novices the basics of the game at the team's practices, which were held three times a week on the practice soccer field behind the natatorium.

The team has made significant progress over the past year, with more freshmen coming in with experience and interest in the sport. They also gained the help of a faculty sponsor, economics professor David Anderson, who, along with athletic director Brian Chafin, helped to guide the team to official club sport status. "I've always thought that lacrosse would fit in well at Centre," says Anderson. "We're fortunate to have this enthusiastic group of students who are making it happen." The team is working on scheduling scrimmages with Western Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and some Louisville high school teams.

Allie Page, a freshman from Louisville, says she started playing lacrosse her sophomore year of high school, when a number of other Louisville high schools started teams. "I started playing because it sounded fun," she says. "Not many people I knew had ever played lacrosse, or even seen a game for that matter, and I wanted to try something new. It was also good to do in my off-season from field hockey. The first few practices were tough, but after I got the hang of throwing and catching I was in love. Lacrosse is the fastest sport I've ever played. It's just non-stop motion. It takes a lot of coordination and a lot of teamwork.

Lisa Notier, a freshman from Holland, Mich., says she had no experience with the game when she came upon two of her friends "throwing around on the soccer field. I simply asked if could play with them. It's a new sport to me and I'm always up for trying new things. Plus there was the challenge of getting it started here at Centre."

Molly Sherron, a freshman from Wooster, Ohio, "where lacrosse is huge," says she "played all through high school and didn't want to give it up when I came to Centre.  Soccer is my primary sport and I think my experience from it allowed me to pick up lacrosse easily, as the two sports compliment each other really well…. We have a lot of girls who played in high school with good talent as well as some really dedicated girls who are trying it out for the first time."

Taylor McGovern, a sophomore, says she played for three years at Louisville's duPont Manual. "My last year there we won the high school state championship, so it's always been a passion of mine. When it started at my high school it was a club just like it is here, but that didn't stop anyone from being serious about practice and the sport in general, which I hope will be the same here at Centre.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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