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Newsletter (4/30/01)
Immediate Past President Jenn Eames is keeping us up to date
in the 2001 season with this weekly email newsletter.
Hey Everybody -
Before the season started, in the February issue of Lacrosse Magazine, it said that "tiny Emory University hopes to make a dark-horse challenge for the SWLL title." Saturday in Chattanooga, Emory upset two-time defending SWLL champion Georgia to win their first-ever SWLL Championship.
Georgia and Emory squared off as two of the oldest college clubs in this region - both were started by students at their schools following Atlanta Women's Lacrosse Club clinics in the early 1990's. To reach the championship, Georgia defeated Furman in their semifinal. Auburn had an amazing 4-goals-in-a-minute-and-a-half comeback to send their semifinal against Emory into overtime. Emory then scored all three overtime goals against Auburn, putting Emory in the championship game.
In the championship, Georgia stayed with Emory for the first half, but Emory's dominance in the midfield and defense shut down Georgia in the second period, and gave Emory a 7-4 win and the 2001 SWLL Championship.
Other news and notes from the weekend:
1) The SWLL announced their 2001 awards. They are:
SWLL Championship Team: Emory University
SWLL Runner-up: University of Georgia
MVP of the SWLL Championship: Alex Roberts, Emory
Top College Student Umpire: Viki Royer, Clemson
A freshman at Clemson, Viki umpired both college club and Charlotte, NC high school games this spring. Following a playday that Viki was a part of, according to a Charlotte high school coach, coaches on both sides were "very impressed" with the officiating, calling it "the best they had ever seen."
Most Improved Team: Emory University
Emory went from finishing fifth in the league the last two years to winning the SWLL tournament this weekend.
The All-SWLL Team:
Ashlea Graham, Florida
Christina Soldo, Furman
Courtney Groff, Furman
Marissa Dancer, South Carolina
Whitney Scheiner, Clemson
Catherine Newland, Clemson
Ashley Niller, Clemson
Kelly Stolt, Clemson
Jessie Herron, Clemson
Lauren Kurz, Auburn
Sara Cuccinotta, Auburn
Emily Heard, Auburn
Alex Lane, Emory
Alicia Chang, Emory
Erika Heaton, Emory
Erin Quist, Emory
Jackie Kerr, Georgia
Ellen Matheson, Georgia
Laura Reiss, Georgia
Meghan Stewart, Georgia
SWLL Attack Player of the Year: Meghan Stewart, Georgia
Meghan led her team in scoring, despite being marked by one or two players at all times in any game. Her athleticism, skills, and love of the game made her the premiere attack player in the SWLL. Her vocal enthusiasm and on-field leadership not only benefitted her teammates, but was infectious among her opponents as well.
SWLL Defense Player of the Year: Jessie Herron, Clemson
Jessie finished the SWLL season with an amazing 3.8 goals allowed/game in SWLL play, and less if non-league games are considered. She was an integral part of a Clemson defense that led their club to their first-ever undefeated season, and a first place finish in the regular season standings.
SWLL Sportsmanship Award:
Co-recipients:
Jenny Adams, Clemson and AWLC
Jennifer Eames, AWLC
The SWLL Sportsmanship Award is the highest award given by the league, and goes to the person or organization who best embodies the giving spirit to women's lacrosse on which the SWLL was founded.
Jenny Adams transferred from playing varsity lacrosse at Division II varsity Longwood College to Clemson, and this year, chose to give up her playing time to coach Clemson's club to their first-ever undefeated season. In addition to what she gave to Clemson's club as a coach, Jenny successfully recertified as an umpire, and officiated games at the Division II varsity, college club, and high school level this year. She also coordinated a first-ever tryout for a second Southeast team for the US Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament, and was a valuable member of the Atlanta Women's Lacrosse Club team that competed at the South of the Border tournament in North Carolina in February. Jenny was a leader for Clemson in their bid for varsity status . . . she was instrumental in writing a proposal that was presented to Clemson's athletic department for the creation of a varsity women's lacrosse team at their school. Following that presentation, Clemson administrators commented that they had "never learned so much about a sport in an hour," and announced that they would add another women's varsity sport in December '01.
Regarding the second SWLL Sportsmanship Award recipient, I was honored that people in the SWLL chose to name the award after me. I have been (and still am) a member of many "sports communities" from the national level in team handball, to the highest level of NCAA soccer, to low level recreational softball, and pretty much everything else in between. I absolutely love the character that can be built from athletic experience, regardless of the "level," and want nothing else than to best serve the people in the Southeastern women's lacrosse community. As many athletes/administrators/umpires as I know in several sports, I have never been a part of a group I admired more than those involved in the SWLL, from student club leaders to league administrators.
To be respected by this group in such a significant way is the highest honor I have received in my sporting career.
Thank you.
2) Results from Chattanooga this weekend:
Semifinal games:
Emory 13, Auburn 10 (OT)
Georgia 11, Furman 5
Runner-up Game:
Auburn 18, Furman 3
SWLL Championship Game:
Emory 7, Georgia 4
3) Georgia will be the SWLL representative at the US Lacrosse National Championship in St. Louis. Although Emory won the SWLL Championship, they are unable to attend the national championship in St. Louis. The SWLL will send Georgia as our rep, and know that Georgia has always been a leader in the Southeastern women's lacrosse community, and will represent us well both in terms of their on-field play and the off-field contributions that are the hallmark of the women's lacrosse community in the Southeast.
4) US Lacrosse is honoring a first-ever team of Women's Division All-Intercollegiate Associates (i. e. college club) "All-Americans." Two players in the SWLL were named to this team. The SWLL congratulates Jessie Herron from Clemson and Meghan Stewart from Georgia for being recognized among the best players in women's college club lacrosse in the country.
That's all my news for this week. Good luck to Georgia at the national championship, and I'll be in touch again soon.
Jenn
(4/22/01)
Just sending along news and notes from the SWLL this week . . .
1) In addition to taking care of the end of this season, we're currently looking for feedback from clubs across the Southeast for how we can change to accommodate the explosive growth of women's club lacrosse in this region next year. Many of you have received an email about this already . . . one thing I neglected to mention in that email . . . when you get back to school in the fall, if your email address has changed, or there's a new leader on your club, please let us know. The single most critical factor for growth of lacrosse, and for the experience of your clubs, is communication. No one wants to feel like they're on their own island, struggling with all the stuff clubs do, by themselves. We have a great network here . . . please stay plugged into it as your club's contact info changes - whether or not you're currently in the SWLL.
Keeping in touch is a two-way street . . . we can keep up with contacts to the best of our ability, but we can't possibly tell others where teams are if we don't know their leadership has changed. Just let us know.
2) This week the April issue of Lacrosse Magazine had a feature article on the SWLL, including quotes from several SWLL players. If you'd like to read the online version, check it out at http://www.uga.edu/wlacrosse/swll/docs/SWLLArt1.html.
3) This weekend marked the first games for three of the new Southeastern clubs . . . Catawba played at Wake Forest last weekend in their first game, then this Sunday hosted the first women's lacrosse games in Catawba's 150-year history when Coastal Carolina and Elon visited. Coastal and Elon were also playing their first-ever games. It was exciting see the beginning of the "next generation" of Southeastern clubs.
4) Believe it or not, I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about fall playdays, now that some teams have already finished their spring season. Unlike the spring, where your schedules revolve around league play, the fall is entirely up to the creativity of your clubs (and I've heard some pretty creative ideas lately . . .!), and what you put together.
Some ideas I've heard . . . Clemson's looking to once again pull in teams from all over for their huge Southern Comfort tourn.; Furman is thinking of hosting a fall playday for first-year clubs to all get together and play each other; previously South Carolina has had the idea of hosting a Palmetto State Tourn. for all the SC clubs, kind of like a state championship; UGA is up to something that's still unclear at the moment, but will surely be interesting; traditionally AWLC hosts the women's side of the Peach State tourn. and Emory hosts the SWLL Fall Playday . . . basically, the fall is up to you guys, so before people leave for the summer, you might want to touch base with each other if you have a good idea for a playday (there was even one down here one year that raised money for Habitat for Humanity) and see what clubs want to do.
5) OK, final regular season results and standings for the 2001 SWLL season. Please note there are two lists of rankings . . . those for full members, who are eligible for the championship, and some incorporating associate members, so everyone can see where they stood in comparison to all teams.
Results from this weekend:
Saturday, April 21, at Georgia
Georgia 14, Furman 6
Saturday, April 21, at Auburn
Auburn 10, AWLC 0
Sunday, April 22, at Murphy-Candler Park, Atlanta
Emory 1, South Carolina 0 (forfeit)
Auburn 1, South Carolina 0 (forfeit)
2001 SWLL Full Member Standings:
Team Wins Losses G/A
Clemson 6 0 3.8
Georgia 5 1 5.2
Emory 4 2 8.6
Auburn 3 3 7.0
Florida 2 4 7.5
South Carolina 1 5 8.0
Furman 0 6 12.0
2001 SWLL Standings for All Teams:
Team Wins Losses G/A
Clemson 6 0 3.8
AWLC* 4 1 5.0
Georgia 5 1 5.2
Emory 4 2 8.6
Auburn 3 3 7.0
Florida 2 4 7.5
South Carolina 1 5 8.0
Florida State* 0 4 9.5
Furman 0 6 12.0
Rhodes* 0 4 13.0
* = associate member, not eligible for SWLL Championship.
6) Next weekend is the SWLL Championship, held in Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in conjunction with the men's SELC championship. SWLL teams were invited based on regular season standings . . . some were unable to attend due to final exams, so the next highest finisher was invited in their place.
The schedule for the weekend will be:
Friday, April 27
1:00 Auburn vs. Emory
3:00 Georgia vs. Furman
Saturday, April 28
9:00AM SWLL 3rd Place Game
1:00PM SWLL Championship Game
2001 SWLL awards will be announced this weekend also. The winner of the SWLL Championship will be invited to attend the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship in St. Louis (http://www.uslia.com/admin/wuslia.shtml and http://www.uslia.com/championship/2001tourney.shtml)
More details on the SELC/SWLL championship weekend can be found at http://www.selc.org/league/tournament.htm.
Good luck to the teams in Chattanooga this weekend . . . I am confident that whoever wins will represent the SWLL well in St. Louis!
Jenn
(4/8/01)
Hey Everybody -
Just news and notes from this week in the SWLL . . .
1) Club players from as far away as Central Florida travelled to Clemson Sunday for the Southeastern tryout for the US Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament. It was great to see the high quality of play and enthusiasm of club players from all over the Southeast brought to the field. The group who makes the teams from that tryout will certainly represent us well.
2) Now that the season is getting near it's end, it's time to start thinking about SWLL awards. The awards the league gives from the regular season are the all-SWLL team, Attack and Defense Players of the Year, Most Improved Team, and the SWLL Sportsmanship Award. The Sportsmanship Award is the highest award the league offers, and is given to the person (player, umpire administrator, sponsor, whoever) or organization (team, etc.) who has most embodied the giving spirit to women's lacrosse on which the SWLL was founded. If you have any thoughts on who should be nominated for any of the awards (or of you want more details), contact Stacie (stacie@swll.org).
3) Regionally, US Lacrosse has local chapters throughout the Southeast. If you haven't already done it, it's a good idea to let your local chapter know about your club, so they can best document what goes on in lacrosse in their region. Also, if someone moves to the area and asks them about lacrosse, they can be refer to your club. Regional chapter information can be found at http://www.lacrosse.org/chapters.html off the US Lacrosse website, or a few down here have their own websites. In Georgia, check out www.lacrosseatlanta.com and in South Carolina, www.sclacrosse.com was recently launched.
4) Scores and rankings for this week:
Saturday, April 7, at Auburn:
Emory 11, Auburn 9
Saturday, April 7, at South Carolina:
Florida 14, Furman 3
South Carolina 10, Furman 2
Florida 12, South Carolina 5
Sunday, April 8, at Clemson:
Clemson 13, Emory 2
Georgia 8, Emory 7
Clemson 6, Georgia 4
Rankings:
Team: Wins, Losses, Goals/Allowed
Clemson: 6, 0, 3.8
Georgia: 4, 1, 5.0
Emory: 3, 2, 8.6
Auburn: 2, 3, 7.0
Florida: 2, 4, 7.5
South Carolina: 1, 4, 8.2
Furman: 0, 5, 11.6
The SWLL is off next weekend for Easter, but returns to action with final league regular season games being played the following weekend. On Saturday, April 21, AWLC travels to Auburn, and Furman will head to UGA. The following day, Emory, South Carolina, and Auburn will all meet in Atlanta for the last playday of the season (can you believe how fast this season's flown by?!).
Good luck to everyone, have a great Easter, and take care.
Jenn
(4/1/01)
I'm just sending along SWLL news and thoughts from this week. I hope everyone had a great week both on- and off- the field.
1) The SWLL was founded three years ago with a purposefully non-hierachical structure. This is unique to sports leagues, but is one that puts input from members clubs as essential to league success as the ideas of league administrators. With the structure we have established, current member clubs currently have more input than anyone else in how things are run. The administrative structure of the SWLL has made the clubs the center of the league, knowing that your first-hand knowledge of what it takes to expand lacrosse in the Southeast will best advance our game in this area. You are on the front line of women's lacrosse expansion in the Southeast, so your feedback about how to facilitate that is invaluable.
At the same time, this empowering structure requires that all of you look out for each other. Each club is responsible for the league as a whole . . . the issues/experiences/conditions of each club dictates the direction we will head in the future to best facilitate the growth of lacrosse in the Southeast.
Communication club-to-club and within the SWLL administration is the key to this - you guys have the power. We know we have a heck of a lacrosse league down here . . . let's all keep in touch about what's going on so we can best serve each other. Please get in touch (email, IM, phone, whatever) w/ whatever's going on so we can all best advance women's lacrosse in the Southeast, and create the best environment for our clubs.
2) A technical note . . . if you are scheduled for a league playday and know you will only be able to field a partial team, you are encouraged to show up with that team anyway. If you have 8 women who want to play, then they should have that chance. Odds are you can borrow players from someone else at the playday (this is within league rules), and the SWLL will pay ref fees, as scheduled. If you know you'll only have a partial team and will have to forfeit, then let the hosting team know, and show up w/ who you have. Personally, I'd much rather see a "forfeit" where your players who really want to play get to, rather than everyone bailing out because you don't have a full team.
The whole point of the SWLL is to give women's lacrosse players in the Southeast the chance to play, so this is a huge part of that.
3) Some of your clubs have websites already, and we have them linked to our league website so that clubs from across the country can get ahold of you. Please check out the bottom of the www.swll.org home page to see who we're currently linked to (you'll be linked off your logo). If there's a club who wants to update or add a new link, please let Katie (katie@swll.org) know.
Just find a comp. sci. major who wants to play around w/ a website, and you'll have one for your team . . .!
FYI, for some cool women's club lax websites from around the country check out http://recsports.tamu.edu/wlacross; http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~womanlax; http://www.umich.edu/~womenlax.
4) Also speaking of internet stuff, there are several bulletin boards dedicated to club women's lacrosse. One (for the Southeast, of course!) can be found off the home page on our website - it's easy to use. Another is off the US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates Website (http://www.uslia.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/forums.cgi?forum=15), which has a specific area dedicated to women's clubs (you have to register for that one, and it's somewhat of a hassle, but not too difficult). Even if you choose not to post anything on the USLIA site (but I heavily encourage people to . . . I think I'm the only woman who's ever posted anything there!), this is the best resource currently to hear what's going on in other women's leagues across the country.
5) SWLL results and standings for this week:
Saturday, Mar. 31 at Emory:
Emory 11, Florida 10
Sunday, April 1 at Murphy Candler Park, Atlanta
AWLC 10, Florida 3*
Clemson 9, Florida 3
AWLC 9, Clemson 0*
* = do not count for SWLL standings.
And the current SWLL standings are:
Team Wins Losses Goals Allowed/Game
1) Clemson 4 0 4.25
2) Georgia 3 0 4.0
3) Emory 2 0 6.5
4) Auburn 2 2 6.0
5) South Carolina 0 3 9.0
6) Furman 0 3 11.3
7) Florida 0 4 9.25
Next weekend is a huge weekend for the SWLL, with South Carolina, Furman, and Florida squaring off in Columbia, SC, for what could be the fourth bid to the SWLL Championship Tournament in Chattanooga. Also on Saturday, Auburn plays Emory in Atlanta.
The next day, Clemson hosts all the currently undefeated SWLL teams, when Georgia, Emory, and Clemson will meet to see who can continue their winning streak.
In addition to a showcase of the currently undefeated SWLL teams, on Sunday, Clemson will also host the Southeast team tryout for the US Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament. The best club players from across the Southeast will be in Clemson that day doing their best to be chosen to represent the Southeast at the National Tournament.
Good luck to everyone next weekend!
Jenn
(3/25/01)
Hey Everybody -
I'm just sending along some news and notes from this week in the SWLL . . . .
1) Jenny Adams is in the process of completing a final list of people trying out for the Southeast teams for the National Tournament. Tryouts will be held at Clemson on April 8. If you would like to try out for the Southeast regional team, more details are available at http://www.uga.edu/wlacrosse/swll/temp/NTmessage.html. The deadline for letter her know that you wish to try out is March 27 - this Tuesday. If you have not already expressed interest, and would like to be considered, email her early this week.
2) Safety in women's lacrosse is key to expanding our sport and allowing it to remain as we know it. We have a great sport, but because of perceptions of the potential danger of athletic stick-wielding women, in other areas, several leagues at various levels require women/girls to wear protective goggles/eyewear in games. When I played high school lacrosse in Massachusetts, public school players were required to wear helmets like men do - a rule that was later revoked because it was found to make the game MORE dangerous because players weren't as careful with checks on opponents wearing helmets. The helmets came off and the sport became safer.
Currently, there is a lot of talk nationally about requiring all women's lacrosse players to wear eye protection, similar to how you are checked for mouthguards at stick-check. While it is currently the prerogative of any lacrosse player to wear eye protection, it will only be mandated if the sport is perceived as unsafe.
As a league, we can do our best to ensure that this doesn't become an issue (more than it already is) in the Southeast. Part of this responsibility lies with the umpires - when a person becomes certified to umpire women's lacrosse games, their primary responsibility is the safety of the players on the field.
HOWEVER, I have seen several games where whistles have been blown over-and-over for crosses hanging in the sphere and dangerous checks, or, this weekend, myself gave four yellow cards in the span of 20 mins in a high school game for checks to the head (none of which, thankfully, injured the players involved). Sometimes, it's up to more than just the refs to control a game.
Players (and coaches) . . . please hold your checks around the head (or anywhere else) - don't take the chance to cleanly win a ball if it's not likely. Play good defense and wait til you see a player unquestionably hanging a cradle to check it. If you're new and aren't sure of your timing, don't check . . . you'll be amazed what can be accomplished defensively by running with them, gaining good body position, and being a distraction to where they want to go. Don't check across someone's body or head . . . you'll be stuck 4m behind rather than just running side-by-side and being a more effective defender.
And our sport, especially in a growing region, depends on safety. Julie LaFramboise, the head of high school lacrosse in our region, explains that at the high school level, “Once we were able to convince the administrators that our sport was safe, we were able to provide an avenue for many of the young girls in the South to enjoy the game.” Currently, high school lacrosse in Atlanta is taking off as fast as in any metropolitan area of the country.
As coaches and players, and college role models, it is our responsibility to keep games safe, as much as it is the officials'. Even in the "big" games, when emotions run high.
3) Enough of that lecture . . . . SWLL Bylaws and Rules will be available on the league's home page (www.swll.org) if anyone's curious or wants details on the technicalities of how things are run.
4) High school lacrosse is just beginning in Charlotte, NC . . . developmentally, it's about where Atlanta was 3-4 years ago. This is a great opportunity for our SC-based officials (those at Furman, South Carolina, and Clemson). Because we have developed officials faster than North Carolina has, the SWLL is now one of the primary umpiring resources for Charlotte girls high school lacrosse. Great to be able to give that to the girls in NC who are also learning our game.
5) A word regarding forfeiting games . . . if you forfeit a game (or games), YOUR CLUB is responsible for notifying the officials. Many officials take weekends off, drive great distances, etc. to get to games. AS SOON AS you know you won't be able to attend a playday, you must notify not only the opposing teams, but the officials who will be at your games. If you fail to do this, and they show up for a game that won't happen, then it's your club's responsibility to pay them. Each club has a list of which umpires will work which games, and their contact info. If you would like that info sent again, let Rena know (rena@cimedia.com). Please save yourselves the money and the officials the time by notifying people early.
6) I have been exceptionally impressed with the travel clubs have undergone this season as the league expands. As clubs, you guys are playing a scheduling mix of the SEC, ACC, Southern Conference, and University Athletic Association. There may be a time in the future that, for geographic reasons, the SWLL will have to split into regions. At this point, the effort all of you have put into getting to each school, giving each other directions, being great hosts, etc. has been great.
7) SWLL results for this weekend:
Sat., Mar. 24, at UGA:
UGA 9, USC 5
Sun. Mar. 25, at Emory:
Emory 10, Furman 3
And the current SWLL standings are:
Team Wins Losses Goals Allowed/Game
1) Georgia 3 0 4.0
2) Clemson 3 0 4.7
3) Emory 1 0 3.0
4) Auburn 2 2 6.0
5) Florida 0 2 8.5
6) South Carolina 0 3 9.0
7) Furman 0 3 11.3
Next weekend, Florida makes the trip to Emory for a Saturday game at Emory. The following day, AWLC hosts Clemson and Florida (and Clemson vs. Florida) at Murphy-Candler Park in Atlanta.
Good luck to everyone next weekend!
Jenn
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