Lax seniors win at national tournament

by TOM UTESCHER

A group of graduating lacrosse players from the area went out on a high note on Memorial Day weekend, winning the High School Senior Division of the U.S. Lacrosse Women's Division National Tournament held at Lehigh University.

Springside School's Erin Lawson, Zan Morley and Lucy Ross and Germantown Academy's Jess Dwinell and Caitlin McKinney all played for the victorious Upper Atlantic region "Gray" team, which was coached by Springside mentor Brooke Fritz.

This was the first year that seniors and underclassmen were separated at the tourney, which started in the 1930's as a gathering of club teams from different regions around the country and began to include high school players in 1985. Because the schoolgirl division was increasingly viewed as a player showcase for college recruiters, many seniors who had already committed to a college chose not to participate, leaving room for additional underclassmen who needed more "exposure."

The Gray team proved the most successful of the three Upper Atlantic senior teams, losing 11-7 to the Mid Atlantic squad (Maryland, Virginia) but winning all of its other contests, including a playoff semifinal. This brought about another meeting with Mid-Atlantic in the championship match, where Upper Atlantic rode the scoring of McKinney and Morley to a hard-fought 10-9 victory. The UA Gray roster included Morley's fellow Georgetown University recruit, Patty Piotrowicz of Plymouth Whitemarsh H.S.

Dallett Burns, a Germantown Friends School senior who will attend Bowdoin College in the fall, played on the UA "Azalea" squad at the tournament.

In the regular (underclass) schoolgirl division, Springside junior Bunny O'Reilly was the only independent school player on the Upper Atlantic First Team roster. The squad reached the playoffs, lost to New York's top team in the semifinals, then beat New England in the playoff consolation to finish third.

Penn Charter junior Marie McKenna, who was hampered by an injury at the Upper Atlantic try-outs, played for the third team, while Springside sophomore Emery Maine was on UA 4 and GA freshman Colleen Magarity was on team five.

Around the time the local laxers were competing at Lehigh, a number of all-star team line-ups were announced. In the All-American selections, Springside's Morley and GA's Dwinell (who will attend Cornell) and McKinney (Notre Dame) were named to the First Team, and another Springsider, O'Reilly, received Honorable Mention.

All four players were All-Girls Inter-Ac First Team picks, along with Penn Charter's McKenna and Katherine Entwisle (Middlebury), Springside's Holly Alsentzer (Drexel), and GA's Niki Finelli (a junior). The Honorable Mention selections in the league included Springside's Maine, Charter junior Margaretha Ehret, and Magarity and GA teammate Jenna Washabaugh, a sophomore.

In the Friends School League, GFS' Burns was tabbed as a First Team all-star, along with classmates Whitney Wildrick (who'll join Entwisle at Middlebury) and Kate McDonald (Davidson). In addition, two Tiger sophomores, Katherine Bixby and Emma Scott, received Honorable Mention in the FSL.