Lacrosse teams aiming for .500

By: Warren Gross (Whetstone Staff)

 

Both the men and women’s lacrosse teams are hoping to at least break even (.500) this year after a rough season last year, in a tough CAC conference.

Last year, the men finished 2-12 and the women 8-9. Both teams, coaches say, lacked depth. The men had a lot of injuries, while the women lacked players.

Both coaches said that the CAC conference is a tough one because of the competition, and there is no easy game on the schedule this year for either team.

“Well, to say anything could go wrong went wrong last year,” said men’s head coach Bill Gorrow. “We weren’t healthy last year and because of that we didn’t have a lot of depth.”

This year will be different, he said.

Women’s head coach Debbie Windett has the same mentality.

“We finished 8-9 last year. It’s always a goal to be at .500,” she said. “We finished at .500 in 2010 and we would like to get back to that.”

Gorrow said the men’s team will rely on leadership and experience from senior and junior players. The team also hopes the freshman can contribute.

“We want the seniors to go out with a winning season,” Gorrow said. “Our captains Mike McQuarrie, Dan Tryon, and Dave Gorski will lead by example.”

Gorrow expects a lot from goalie Matt Ryan this year.

“Seeing a lot of rubber thrown at him last year gave him good experience, especially with the injuries we had on defense,” Gorrow said. “Juniors Drew Hammer and Kyle Funk will be a big part of our team, as well as Seniors Joey Donato and Nate Gorski.”

Ryan and Donato already see the freshmen playing a vital role.

“We have a pretty solid core group of freshmen that could make an impact,” Ryan said.

“A lot of freshmen have come in this year and are stepping up and doing their jobs,” said Donato.

This year, the women’s team is benefiting from a record amount of players.

“Normally, we don’t have subs so we would get tired quickly,” said senior Linnea Cavallo. “This year we can keep our legs fresher and be a good-conditioned team.”

Senior Tristin Burris said she’s happy with the number of women who came out for the team.

“This gives us two full squads and we can actually do full-team scrimmages at practice,” she said.

Windett said her team’s 23 players is the largest group ever.

“Last year we only had 15, so this year we have good depth,” she said.

Both coaches said they also were pleased with their players’ academic success.

“The players are all required to do 10 hours of study hall a week, but most do 17-20 hours,” Gorrow said. “The players’ GPAs are good, so I am happy about that.”

The women’s team had seven players on the CAC all-academic team last year. A team GPA of 3.0 landed them on the 2012 IWLCA Academic Squad; only 61 schools in Division III got honored for that accomplishment. Burris and Jennifer Jacobs made the IWLCA academic honor roll.