The newly-established Dartmouth women’s club lacrosse team headed south to Miami to get some preseason practice outside of Leverone Fieldhouse.
Photo: Courtesy of Christy Lazicky
Last weekend, the Dartmouth women’s club lacrosse team escaped Hanover’s snow flurries and competed in the Fun In The Sun lacrosse tournament hosted by the University of Miami. The four-day trip to Florida is a major step for the new team, which played its first game in the spring of 2006 and was recognized by the College in the fall of 2006.
The team still feels many of the growing pains that affect newly-formed club sports teams. The team, which is coached by players, manages its own finances and raised much of the money for its trip to Florida.
Despite its club status, however, the team went down to Miami with a competitive spirit.
“We went down there more for lacrosse than playing around but we had a great time and a lot of fun,” co-captain Taylor Dryman ‘09 said.
The team went 2-2 in the tournament, beating the University of Illinois 10-1 and the University of Minnesota - Duluth 6-4, while falling to Pennsylvania State University team 13-4 and the University of Miami 9-5. Dartmouth’s team is currently ranked 48th in the Women’s Club and Division IA rankings.
“I think we played really well,” Dryman said. “I’m very happy with the weekend. It was a great time and I’m really proud of the way our girls played. When we looked at the teams on Friday night before we played, I was really impressed with the skill level of the teams that were down there. But for us to play as well as we did against these teams, I think it really shows how far our club team has come in such a short amount of time.”
The games were a change of pace for the women, who rarely get the opportunity to play outside until the spring.
“During the winter we only get to practice in Leverone,” Dryman said. “So it was really great for us to get outside and play some competitive teams in that environment.”
This season, Dartmouth’s team has a 12 game schedule that includes contests against club teams from Ivy rival Brown and the highly ranked D-1 schools Boston College and the University of Connecticut.
The team will head to Orono, Maine to play the University of Maine and Brown next weekend.
The men’s club lacrosse team, which was awarded college recognition in the spring of 2007, will play its first league games this spring.
