NCAA Women's Lacrosse 2012 Preview

No. 18 James Madison

With the team’s confidence and swagger, coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe believes she will be able to rely on her team’s leaders to not only take charge this season, but make important decisions that will propel the Dukes to another CAA title.
The Dukes carry a balanced senior group onto the field this season with three attackers, three middies and three defenders.
“Our senior class is a huge part of this program," Klaes-Bawcombe says. "They were Inside Lacrosse’s number two recruiting class of the year back in 2008."

Best Bet:

Redshirt Junior Casey Ancarrow was an All-American as a sophomore and will lead the Dukes offense this year.
“She is just really fun to watch and play with on the field. She makes things look so easy,” Klaes-Bawcombe says.

Sleeper Pick:

Two-time regional All-American senior Cally Chakrian has been in the conference and is looked at by Klaes-Bawcombe as one of the best defenders in the country.
“She is someone who can take that next step and become that national All-American, but she is by far the person we rely on behind the scenes day in and day out that doesn’t necessarily get the hype,” Klaes-Bawcombe says.

Game to Watch:

The Dukes will take on Harvard in March in Cambridge, pitting JMU against a talented and experienced team that made an impressive run toward the end of last season.
“I think that they are similar to JMU in that they are pretty much returning their entire roster and they are coming off a really good season,” Klaes-Bawcombe says.

Q&A withCal Lacrosse Megan Takacs

With the start of the 2012 Cal lacrosse season on the horizon, CalBears.com caught up with Megan Takacs last week to ask the junior about various topics including preseason, the new coaching staff and the New York Giants. Takacs earned All-MPSF First-Team honors in 2011 after leading Cal in points (48) and goals (16) and scoring 32 goals last year.
CalBears.com: How's practice going? It's going well. This is our second week of school, and it's going really well. Everyone came back in good shape. We had the run test right off the bat and that went super well. We just started lifting today, and we got sticks in our hands late last week. Everyone's getting the hang of it. We're already looking really clean. Everyone's super excited to get back out there on the field, so it's a good atmosphere at practice.
Megan Takacs:
CalBears.com: What's it like working with a brand new coaching staff? We loved our coaching staff last year, and this year we have three brand new coaches from different places. They stepped in and really right off the bat and have done an amazing job. With everything that happened last year, it was a really tough job to come into. It really has been an adjustment period for them. They've done an unbelievable job and provide great balance. Allison is more of the attacking coach, Emma's more the midfield coach and Ginger the defensive coach. They bring real positive energy every day in practice and they make us want to work hard for them as players.
MT:
CalBears.com: What can you say about Ginger Miles' coaching style? Ginger is positive, uplifting and motivated. She's so motivated for us to do well this season. It just makes me want to work hard every day in practice. I think that's the most important thing for a coach. She's done a fantastic job, and she's only going to excel from here. She's going to do a great job.
MT:


CalBears.com: What do you think of the new facilities, including the team's very own locker room, at the Simpson Center for Student-Athlete High Performance?
MT:
The locker room is cool. We're starting to bring things in, like today there's a mirror in there. We're making it more colorful. It's cool. We kind of feel like a professional team using that locker room and the new equipment in there. It's cool. It's a good feeling.
CalBears.com: Do you enjoy playing at Witter Rugby Field, as the team will do for a second straight season this spring? And how do you feel about playing in a renovated Memorial Stadium next season? We were talking about that the other day. My freshman year we played at Memorial Stadium, which I loved because I had never set foot on a big football field like that before, and it was a great experience. Sophomore year came around, and we played at Witter. I loved the intimate feeling of being closed in and having green all around us, and the fans were right with us. I get a brand new field next year as well. I get three fields to play on in the course of four years, and it's going to be back on the big field. It's going to be brand new, so it'll be a brand new experience. When I'm out there playing, it's all the same; it's great. But overall I do like that feeling at Witter, that smaller feeling. I can't complain either way.
MT:
CalBears.com: Despite a lot of changes off the field, you lost only two starters - Allie Shropshire and Chapin Jackson - to graduation from last year's team, which produced Cal's first winning season (9-8) since 2005. What do you expect from your team in 2012? Despite everything that happened last year with our program getting cut and losing some recruits, the freshmen this year are unbelievable. They've been working so hard, whether or not they were recruited here initially or not. We lost two key players, two awesome girls. We lost Shrop, but we have Megan McGinnis and Kelly McCarthy, who are going to be fighting for the starting position as goalie. And we lost Chapin, a midfielder. But we have a ton of fresh legs among the freshmen who are stepping up big; Michaela Bird, Gaby Christman, they are just two of the freshmen who are going to help us out in midfield. I think this is going to be a big year for us. I can't tell you how excited I am. I think we're going to be a great team.
MT:
CalBears.com: The MPSF Preseason Coaches' Poll ranked Cal fourth. Any reaction? I think that will pump us up even more. Fourth? It doesn't matter if we're No. 1 or the last seed in our conference. We just need to have a mentality that we have to stay focused and not even look at numbers or the rankings. Obviously conference play is a huge part of our season, and we've focused a lot on keeping that goal in mind to win our conference. It might light us up a little bit, knowing we are No. 4, but I think that will just make us stronger. We may surprise some teams.
MT:
CalBears.com: What kind of career do you want to pursue? I'm majoring in American studies, and my concentration is business and marketing. I know it's broad to say marketing and business, but more specifically I'd like to work in the sports industry, maybe in sports marketing at the professional level.
MT:
CalBears.com: Why did your family move from Ohio to the Bay Area? My mom still lives in Ohio. My dad is out here in Woodside, so right near the Stanford-Palo Alto area. He and my step-mom moved out here for work. In the recruiting process I was considering a few schools in the Midwest, one southern school and Cal. I weighed my options and in the end I chose Cal because of, obviously, academics and athletics. I loved the whole atmosphere of being a Cal Bear; it's a great family-oriented school. And knowing that my dad would be across the bay was really comforting, too.
MT:
CalBears.com: What's the most-played song on your iPod? Probably "White Blank Page" by Mumford & Sons. I was at their concert at the Oracle Arena during dead week, and I've been obsessing over that band ever since.
MT:
CalBears.com: What was the last movie you saw? "Fight Club." There's something about that movie. I could just watch it over and over.
MT:
CalBears.com: Do you have a favorite TV show? I'm a sucker for "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette.
MT:
CalBears.com: You and several teammates went to the NFC Championship Game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants on Jan. 22 in San Francisco. Did you enjoy the game? That was an amazing, amazing experience being at that game and being in a crowd of Niners' fans with my blue Giants' gear on. I was fortunate to go on the field after the game and go in the locker room, and I actually hugged Eli Manning and coach Coughlin. I got to give them high fives and hugs. That was a really, really memorable experience for me. My dad's best friend is Frank Mara, one of the owners of the Giants. He was able to get us down there.
MT: That's a breath-taking experience. The other day I went in there - I was showing my dad around - and he put things in perspective. He said, "Meg, every day you walk in here you have to take a deep breath, step back and take this experience in," because I'm a junior and I only have a year and a half left here. Today when we were lifting, I was thinking, This is really an amazing facility. Not many athletes in the U.S. can say they train in a High Performance Center like ours.

deBeer Women's Media Poll

Northwestern opens the season as a unanimous choice for the No. 1 spot in the preseason deBeer Media Poll.
Rounding out the top five are 2011 runner up Maryland, 2011 quarterfinalist Florida and perennial contenders Duke and North Carolina.

NCAA Women's Lacrosse 2012 Preview

No. 12 GEORGETOWN

After Syracuse’s slip last season, the Hoyas are poised for a Big East run. Solid from top to bottom, Georgetown’s weakness comes at the goalie position. Last season, the Hoyas finished the season averaging just 4.76 saves per game, good for the worst in the conference. Despite this, the Hoyas posted a 6-1 record in Big East play in the regular season.
The Hoyas return three of their top four scorers and The Big East Midfielder of the Year from 2011, Sophia Thomas. Thomas stands alone in her abilities to score collect groundballs (42) and cause turnover (33). This one of a kind player is all over the field with her speed and can do it all.
Although five starters leave to graduation, the Hoyas offensive attack is balanced and does not rely on one player to carry all of the weight. Kelsi Bozel and Dina Jackson both contributed 20 plus goals last season and will continue to produce against tough opponents.

Best Bet

Sophia Thomas creates problems for the opposition on every level. If she’s not causing turnovers, she’s heading down the other way on a fast break. It’s scary to think that she is only halfway through her career and already this skilled. A dangerous weapon for the Hoyas, Thomas will become crucial for conference success.

Sleeper Pick

Erin Lovett may not be a traditional sleeper, however her absence from play after her season ending injury warrants the tag. After a fast start in the first two games of 2011, it will be interesting to see if Lovett is the explosive same player in 2012.

Game to Watch

April 14, 2012 Georgetown vs. Syracuse
Inquiring minds want to know if the Hoyas are conference top dog challengers. When Syracuse takes on the Hoyas, both could undefeated and vying for the title. This matchup will be circled on both team’s calendars and whichever comes out on top will likely make the tournament.

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Women's Lacrosse Picked Eighth in BIG EAST Preseason Poll

The Villanova women's lacrosse team has been selected eighth in the 2012 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the conference office has announced.
Senior midfield Justine Donodeo is a preseason All-BIG EAST selection after being selected to the All-BIG EAST second team in 2011. Donodeo was the top scorer for the Wildcats last season with 39 goals and 12 assists.
Georgetown was picked as the favorite in the league with 60 points, while Syracuse finished in second by a slim margin with 59 points. Loyola was third with 51 points and Notre Dame was picked fourth with 44 points. Rutgers (34), Connecticut (27) and Louisiville (26) were picked fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Villanova received 12 points for eighth and Cincinnati was picked ninth with 11 points.
The new era of Villanova women's lacrosse under first year head coach Julie Young will begin on Feb. 18 as the Wildcats travel to Wagner for a 1:00 p.m. start.