Pomona-Pitzer Women’s Lacrosse traveled to UC Davis last weekend for the Western States Tournament. There, the Hens played a lacrosse tournament against teams from many of the western states of this great nation. P-P won its first two matches easily, defeating the University of Puget Sound in a blow out and than defeating Whitman 11-6. In their third game, they played a much stronger and more aggressive team from Chico State, but they managed to win that one 7-6 in a squeaker. The Hens were very impressed with their performance after the first day of competition. However, the tournament was far from over. Bright and early Sunday morning, the team found themselves up against the Huskies from the University of Washington. The Hens pulled it out in sudden death overtime when Steph Svetlik ’04 put the ball into the back of the net off a pass from Jackie Oviedo ’02.

Their 4-0 record advanced them into the championship game, where they would once again face UPS. The game was even after the first half, but the fatigue of a fifth game in two days caught up to them, and the Loggers busted open the game in the second half to win it 8-5. All in all, however, the Hens were thrilled with their result at the tournament. "We meshed really well that weekend and we didn’t even expect to get that far," said Oviedo. Attacker Nicole Dumas ’03, who didn’t play due to bronchitis, agreed, "We’re all really dedicated to lacrosse, we’ve all sacrificed a lot for this team and it’s really paid off in all of the improvement."

The Hens’ strategy relies heavily on a potent offense. Attackers Marcelle Ferguson ’01, Oviedo, Heather Wilson PI ’03, Beth Wilson PI ’03 and co-captain Kendra Bischoff ’02 pulled together into a unified offensive threat. "We were really good about spreading the ball around… We all really encourage each other on and off the field. There are these ground balls that are really hard to scoop up, but the whole time you’re going for it you hear your teammates yelling, ‘Go for it, you got it!’ and just being really encouraging, so that’s really great for the team," commented Dumas.

Kendra Bischoff ’02 also gave credit to the defense, "We’re working hard to condition ourselves and play both sides of the field. We’re playing more aggressively all around and it’s paying off." Led by goalie Hana Viselka ’03 and co-captain Katie Boyle ’01, the defensive unit uses its speed and agility to thwart enemy offenses. "One of our great strengths is our speed and agility," noted Dumas. Julie Schulz ‘04, Jill McClelland ‘03 and Alison Fussell-Louie PI ’04 round out the defense.

Women’s lacrosse has been undergoing dramatic changes in the past few years. Originally started as a five-college team by then coach Dan