If you’re wondering whether it’s possible for a small school such as Washington University to be able to compete with the likes of Illinois and Missouri, look no further.
Just check out the men’s lacrosse team.
According to senior Adam Schickedanz, president of the Lacrosse club team, “there were a lot of talented guys on the team, especially from the East Coast who played in high school.”
In fact, one member of the team, freshman David Woo, even played on the Korean National Team last summer.
This team of 33 men is relatively young, but experienced.
“I can’t say enough good things about these guys,” said second year coach Troy Hood. “We have a good balance of youth and experience, and we have twelve fantastic freshmen and a lot of seniors at key positions.”
Additionally, the team has grown dramatically over the past few years. “The team has earned plenty of respect in its five years playing with the Division I schools, upsetting some highly talented schools,” Schickedanz said.
WU is in the middle of its fall schedule and so far has compiled three big wins against Division I schools Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota.
The fall schedule, which ends in late October, is only a warm up for what’s to come in the spring. Prior to the spring season, WU will travel to Florida to take on some of the nation’s top teams such as the University of Florida, Auburn, and Virginia Tech University.
Last year, the team was a part of the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA), which had teams spanning from New York to Iowa. Due to its large size, the CCLA split up into two different conferences: the CCLA and GRLC.
WU’s 10-6 record last year and impressive finish of third place at last year’s conference tournament has helped place WU at the top of the GRLC, ranked ahead of such schools as Missouri and Illinois.
The United States Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates (USLIA) is the equivalent of the NCAA in terms of club Lacrosse. The NCAA places teams in divisions according to size, while the USLIA places teams in divisions according to skill level. This is WU’s fifth year in playing in the A division against the NCAA designated Division I schools.
Overall, this team is looking forward to this spring.
“This spring should be a really good spring for us,” Schickedanz said. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to win the conference.”
The team’s health has been good over the past few years. There have been no drastic injuries other than the inevitable soreness and other small injuries. In sports such as lacrosse, players are often susceptible to major injuries from the roughness of the game.
If the team is able to win the conference tournament, it will receive an automatic bid into the National Lacrosse Playoffs against other club teams from around the nation.
According to Hood, this will be the last year the playoffs will be held in St. Louis, which gives WU one more shot to, “stack up against the best.”