Boston University lacrosse won’t start its official collegiate season until next January, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t already preparing themselves. Through the sun, rain and early morning fog, the ladies are out on Nickerson Field three days a week, participating in a fall lacrosse league at the same time.
Last Sunday, as the weather worsened, the Terriers scrimmaged Brown University while students in West Campus stayed dry inside and watched from their dorm rooms. The score didn’t matter, but the quality of players still did, and there was “definitely room for improvement,” according to coach Liza Kelly (marriage prompted the change from Shoemaker to Kelly).
That doesn’t mean the women are in bad shape, however, since that’s exactly what fall ball is for – improving. There’s always some room for improvement, even for a team that cracked the top 5 in the nation last year.
“I saw some good things, some people really stepped up,” Kelly said. While they’re limited in practice and game time, now is the time for teams to work on their skills and chemistry.
“It’s hard in fall ball because there is not much continuity,” Kelly said. “We need our defense to step up and play more as a unit, and we also need more leadership out there on the field.”
By leadership she is not referring to captains Danica Strutt, Michelle Bussichella or Lindsay Lewis, the latter of which is not participating in the fall season.
“I need it from all our returning players,” Kelly said.
It’s clear where the leadership is needed, as the team welcomes nine freshmen this fall.
“They are a very athletic group,” Kelly said. “Fall is a good time for them to get used to the pace of the college game and our system here.”
Next up for the Terriers is a Saturday game against the U.S. Developmental Team, and on Sunday, BU hosts its own Beanpot, minus Northeastern University. The fall season ends on Oct. 29, when the women play at the University of Connecticut.
“Right now, fall is nice to welcome the freshmen,” Kelly said. “We’ll see what happens when we start playing for real.”
* Both the men’s and women’s golf teams played in tournaments last weekend.
The women played in the Central Connecticut State University Invitational Tournament, placing fourth out of nine. The planned two-round tournament was cut to one round due to inclement weather.
Freshman Allison Hamilton led the Terriers with a first round score of 81 (9-over), good for a ninth-place tie overall. Other BU scores included 17th-place Haley Goucher, who scored an 84, Hannah Barry, who tied for 18th with an 85 and Lauren Strong, who tied for 26th, shooting 88 on the day.
Brown won the team competition with a combined score of 317 (+29) – 21 strokes better than BU.
The women play next week at Hempstead, N.Y. in the Hofstra Invitational.
The men shot a combined two-round score of 624, good for 64-over par. The squad placed 19th in a 20-team field.
Finishing with the top score for BU was senior Remy Sloan, who shot a 148 (+8) over two rounds on the par-70 course. Following Sloan were teammates sophomore Michael O’Day, who finished 77th with a score of 156 (+16), freshman Chris Cooley, who came in 96th at 162 (+22) and junior Steven Smith, who stood at 102nd after two days, with 167 (+27). Senior team captain Jed Prescott rounded out the scoring, finishing 99th, shooting a 163 (+23).
The University of Pennsylvania took first, shooting a combined 580, while University of Hartford’s Dustin Wetherup won individual competition with a score of 134 (-6).
* The men’s tennis team had to wait through a wet weekend to take on New Hampshire yesterday, winning 5-1 in the rescheduled conference match on outdoor courts.
“The playing conditions were not pleasant,” said coach Rocky Jarvis. “It was a good win.”
The two most impressive performances came from co-captains Barrett Wolf and Ross Lohr, who took their No. 1 and 2 singles matches in very different fashion.
“Barrett just used his intelligence and annihilated him,” Jarvis said. Lohr, on the other hand, didn’t have it so easy.
“Ross pulled an escape act,” Jarvis said, “the other guy went out of his mind for the first few sets but Ross came back and wiped him out to win the 10-point tiebreaker.”
Fourth singles man Giulio Gallarotti won, 7-5, 6-4, in straight sets, and his teammate Tim Sichler won his first varsity match after obtaining college eligibility. Wolf qualified for the ITA tournament, along with teammate Jared Kobren, who won his match on a close clinching point. The Terriers’ only loss came from Hans Sapra, who played through his match despite cramping up.
“Hans gave a valiant effort out there,” Jarvis said.
The men skipped doubles matches due to the cold weather but despite the poor conditions, Jarvis said he felt very optimistic coming out of the match.
“We’ve got nine or 10 quality players on this team,” said Jarvis. “We’ve accomplished all our goals.”
Next up for the Terrier men is a meet among Ivy League teams at Cornell University.
“It’s been a good fall for us,” Jarvis said, “better than we could have hoped for. We’ve just had a great time.”
