2009 Tribe Lax Fall Blog

11/22/09 2:50PM

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Practice Photos 9/17/09


Katie Delaney
Senior • Attack

Nov. 22

Although fall ball officially “ended” after the Alumni game (a HUGE thanks to all the alumni who came back and made the game so fun and competitive), the level of competitiveness and contagious energy that surrounds our team this year led us into an extremely successful November. We’ve spend the past three weeks, practicing as a team twice a week, spinning twice a week, conditioning twice a week, and lifting three times a week. There has been absolutely no drop off from the high level of play we demonstrated in the fall and everyone showed great improvement. All of the practices were extremely focused and full of intensity making it so much fun to play together. We capped off the last day of practice with an exciting game of dodge ball and tie dyed t-shirts as a team.

One of the best parts of the past month was the senior class winning the Halloween contest! We have shown great improvement since our freshmen year in our costume making abilities, and this year we finally took the gold metal as the Fruit of the Loom characters. The freshmen came in a close second as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the juniors were magic eight balls, and the sophomores dressed up as the juniors using inside jokes. The most comical part of our costume was trying to fit Annie, Rees, and I (Annie and I covered in balloons for our grape costume, and Rees as a giant apple) in Mary’s car to get over to Chris’ house for dinner. Needless to say we got some funny looks from people driving by.

Over the next few days we will all be heading home to spend a nice relaxing Thanksgiving with our families. For the next nine weeks we will be training on our own with great anticipation for the start of the spring season. Everyone is counting down the days until February 14 when we take on Ohio State at home to kick off the 2010 season!

Go Tribe!
Katie Delaney

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Denise Lenihan
Sophomore • Defense

Oct. 22

I cannot believe fall ball is already coming to an end. This past week we arrived back in Williamsburg (those that went home for fall break) and were excited to play lacrosse with each other again. We had two practices before traveling to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday. While the weather wasn't the best, The Naval Academy still found a way to impress me. The school is very pretty and the fields we played on were right by the water, and I happened to notice some sort of sailing race was going on! At the Navy play day, several other teams from across the country came to show us some good competition. We faced Denver, Louisville, and Cincinnati, however I also noticed Oregon, Richmond as well as others were there. Playing through the cold and rain wasn't easy, but it certainly bonded our team together, showed us how tough we are, and some people (including myself) found ways to stay warm.. ;).

After our games the team went to the Steinweg's gorgeous house for a delicious tailgate. The crab dip was amazing and the desserts were by far my favorite - Including a birthday cake for Chris since it was her birthday the next day! After visiting with our parents, friends, or boyfriends who go to The Academy, we had to get on the bus and go home. I feel as though it was a great experience for Tribe lacrosse, and something we will never forget!

Denise

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Emily Geary
Junior • Goalkeeper

Sept. 25

Week two of fall ball was a big week for Tribe Lacrosse! We started off the week continuing to implement our new defense. The coaches focused a lot on individual tendencies, so we all learned a ton. The rest of Monday and Tuesday were largely devoted to man down situations. I was happy about this because we got to do a 4 v 3 drill - one of my personal favorites!

On Wednesday, we headed to UVA for our first fall ball scrimmage! Over the past two years, playing UVA has become one of my favorite things about fall ball. After only a few days of practice, I love having the opportunity to play a competitive game against a tough opponent who we will see again later in the year. This year was no exception. The excitement and energy was contagious from one player to the next, and it was a strong showing for our team. It was awesome to put all of the things we had been learning from the coaches into play. Returners Maggie Anderson and Sarah Jonson, as well as freshman Katie Stillwell had especially great games. After the game, we were greeted by many fans for a delicious tailgate, and then we headed back to Williamsburg, where we were back to the grind on Thursday with practice and a tough lift.

On Friday morning at about 10:30, we all received an email from Chris that instantly spurred lots of text messages throughout the team. PRACTICE IS CANCELLED! After a long week filled with hard work, it was so rewarding to have some time to catch up on some sleep and relax!

“Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play. It’s as simple as that. God, I love that opportunity.” – Mike Singletary
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Meredith Rutherford
Freshman • Attack

Sept. 18

I can't believe we are already at the end of our first week of practices! It has been so exciting getting to know the team and picking up our sticks. We started on Monday with Fireball, 3 vs 3s, and worked our way up to a full field scrimmage. The energy and excitement was contagious! The rest of the week, we broke down several drills and had a lot of instructional time. As a freshman, it was really nice to have the instructional time and to see how the different drills work. All three coaches were engaged and very helpful. The upperclassmen were also giving pointers, tips, or feedback. All week, I have been very thankful for everyone's encouragement and helpful feedback. We all still have so much to learn, but it is very evident that everyone is willing to work hard and push themselves to become better players as we continue to improve. I am so excited for this year and for the many things the Tribe is going to accomplish together during this fall season.

Meredith
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Kyrstin Mackrides
Freshman • Attack

Sept. 18

Welcome back Tribe Lacrosse fans! Since Mary left off, we have successfully completed our first week of practice. From what I've seen so far, I cannot wait for the season to officially begin. I have a feeling that this is going to be such an amazing year. Not only because I am a freshman, and this is all new to me, but because it's so comforting to be around a group of people whom you can call your second family.

Our first practice, last Monday, showed how much the team has been looking forward to beginning a brand new year of Tribe Lacrosse. From the moment I became a part of the team, the supportive and encouraging attitudes of the upperclassmen stuck out as a unique quality, not found anywhere else. The energy on the field carries from one player to another the entire time. Surprisingly at 6:45 in the morning there is no exception! While the rest of campus appears to be silent, our team is training out on the turf. It's actually not as bad as it seems because we can look forward to a deliciously hearty breakfast at the caf, afterward.

We kick off our fall season next week with an opener against UVA. As a freshman, I can hardly wait to experience the excitement of fall ball. Our team has been training incessantly both in the weight room and out on the field to set our standards high from the start. The overall competitive atmosphere has prepared us for anything. I think I can speak for all of the freshmen when I say that this year is going to be a memorable one! GO TRIBE!!!

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek." - Mario Andretti

Thanks,
Kyrstin
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Mary Zulty
Senior • Attack

Sept. 10

First Official Week!

Hello everyone and welcome to our Fall 2009 William & Mary Lacrosse blog! After our first official week together I can barely put to words how excited I am for this upcoming year. In our first team meeting it was great seeing 8 new additions to our Tribe family (7 freshmen and our new assistant coach Sarah!). The energy in the room was contagious. I hope our volunteer assistant coach Meg Huether enjoyed the round of applause she got for helping the 2009 US National Team to their International Lacrosse World Cup title! After our meeting, we began to look forward to maxing out two different days in the weight room. Coach Sauer was definitely happy to have his favorite team back. All over the room I saw Tribe Lax putting up some big numbers, especially our new reigning weight room champ, Denise.

My favorite part of our week was the First Annual Tribal Challenge Draft. For those of you who do not know about this highly competitive intra-squad rivalry, it is a competition between two teams, Green and Gold. After Chris created our teams last year, we competed in various categories, from practice drills and scrimmages to GPAs and organizational points. I’m on the Green team and to my dismay the highly un-organized Gold team was crowned last year’s Tribal Challenge champions. Luckily, morale on the Green team has recovered, and we are more than ready to win the challenge this year. Because of the addition of 7 freshmen, it was necessary to have our first official draft. Because the Green team lost, we received the first pick and were proud to welcome Kyrstin Mackrides to the good side. In addition to Krystin, we were also extremely excited to welcome Caitlin Murphy to our team. The gold team graduated more players, so they were allowed to pick up five freshmen: Katie G, Hannah, Meredith, Brett, and Stillwell.

This upcoming week we are looking forward to more time together. We have conditioning and lifting to do, and I know everyone is super excited to start working together with sticks next Monday. I’ve never seen the Tribe so ready to work hard and bring on the competition. GO TRIBE!!!!

Mary Zulty