Women’s LAX Gets Serious

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Author: Lizeth Castillo

In April, Oxy announced that along with Women’s Golf, Women’s Lacrosse would be added as an intercollegiate sport in 2010 – bringing the number of women’s NCAA Division III sports Oxy offers to 11. In preparation for this exciting change of pace, the Women’s Lacrosse team is getting their game together and practicing harder than ever.

“I have been playing since my freshman year here . . . and the lacrosse program barely existed when I arrived,” Allison Tamaki (senior) said. “The team was very disorganized and practices were a joke. Our program has grown so much over the past four years and it’s really exciting that we are finally going to go varsity next year!”

Women’s Lacrosse Coach Herbie Huff is equally excited about the team’s progress, and recognizes the intense student action that was needed for the intercollegiate change to take place.

“The players and captains from the past five or so years since Oxy club lacrosse started deserve the credit for this transition. I told the team the other day that all varsity lacrosse players at Occidental from 2010 until infinity will be indebted to them. Because the program could not exist without its club foundation,” Huff said. “You can’t just plant a varsity lacrosse program in California without prior demonstrated student interest.”

The Women’s Lacrosse team is also preparing themselves for the inherent change in team dynamics.

“With the increased competition and the higher level of play in DIII, the team dynamic will become more competitive and driven,” Huff said. “Personally, I want to coach at that level, so I’m excited about the change.”

Players are also recognizing the upcoming changes in the way the team will practice, interact and play.

“Going varsity will definitely make our team stronger. It’s been difficult to attend tournaments because of financial reasons, but we now have an amazing coach who has been doing great things for our team,” Tamaki said.

Although the upcoming intercollegiate seasons will most likely prove to be the most trying for the team, players are staying positive and ready to tackle the upcoming season.

“I am so excited about this season, we have already started fall ball and are starting off much stronger than we ever have in the past,” Tamaki said. “We have a bunch of new girls and a lot of talent on the team and I think it’s going to be an incredible season.”

“One of our goals is to maintain a larger squad than last year,” Huff said. Last year, the team was winning games with as little as nine players, when the number of players on a lacrosse field is 11. Coach Huff hopes that the team will be playing with 11 players this year at all times. “We need to develop depth in our squad if we’re looking forward to a varsity season in 2010 . . . My goal is to instill a varsity mentality where teamwork and dedication are the top values,” Huff added.

This spring, the Women’s Lacrosse team will be scrimmaging with several schools that will be their SCIAC opponents when the team goes varsity in 2010, such as Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer.

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