Orange Celebrate 20th Season of Women's Lacrosse
1/30/2017 12:19:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
20th Year Celebration Video
The 2017 campaign will be the 20th season for the Syracuse women's lacrosse program. Former players, coaches, family and friends gathered at Sky Armory on Saturday, Jan. 28 to celebrate the milestone.
The Orange played their first game on May 14, 1998 at three-time defending champion Maryland. Syracuse won nine games in its inaugural season and, a year later, won the ECAC Championship. The Orange earned their first bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2000, starting a streak of five appearances in the national tournament over the next six years.
In 2007, Syracuse won the inaugural BIG EAST Tournament title in the Carrier Dome and posted its first win in the NCAA Tournament with a 16-10 victory at Vanderbilt. The 2008 squad, under the direction of first-year head coach Gary Gait, repeated as conference tournament champs and advanced to the program's first Final Four. The Orange have now made seven appearances at Championship Weekend, including five in a row.
Lisa Miller was named the first head coach in program history in June 1996. She was tasked with building the program from the ground up.
"I thought we could be successful fairly quickly," Miller said. "That first recruiting class - many of them were from the area and they grew up watching Syracuse men's lacrosse and and Roy Simmons Jr. coaching so they had a drive to catch the boys. That group was pretty special and was very competitive. That one-goal loss to Yale (in the season finale) at the end of the season was a turning point and I thought it made everyone want to commit to making the (NCAA) Tournament."
Several members of the first Syracuse teams attended the event, giving them a chance to meet the current squad.
"This event is incredibly special," Miller said. "Syracuse is a special place and the program is really strong. At the end of the day, it's all about the kids, the relationships and the bonds they build and the commitment and the loyalty and the incredible pride that they have in the program. I think you saw that tonight."
Katie Rowan '09 played for Miller and Gait. She appreciated the opportunity to relive the successes of the program.
"This is such a wonderful event," Rowan said. "There's alums from the first graduating class to the most recent Class of '16 so it's really nice to get to know everyone and to talk about our special memories of Syracuse."
The night's program featured speeches by Miller and Gait and former players Karen Healy '02, Jill (DePetris) Batcheller ''07, Bridget Looney ''09 and Kayla Treanor '16. in addition, there was a ring ceremony for members of the 2016 squad that advanced to the national semifinals.
"Thank you for all of your support and all you've done for Syracuse lacrosse," Gait said to end the evening. "We all bleed Orange and it's such a wonderful thing to have such a unique family here."
The 2017 campaign will be the 20th season for the Syracuse women's lacrosse program. Former players, coaches, family and friends gathered at Sky Armory on Saturday, Jan. 28 to celebrate the milestone.
The Orange played their first game on May 14, 1998 at three-time defending champion Maryland. Syracuse won nine games in its inaugural season and, a year later, won the ECAC Championship. The Orange earned their first bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2000, starting a streak of five appearances in the national tournament over the next six years.
In 2007, Syracuse won the inaugural BIG EAST Tournament title in the Carrier Dome and posted its first win in the NCAA Tournament with a 16-10 victory at Vanderbilt. The 2008 squad, under the direction of first-year head coach Gary Gait, repeated as conference tournament champs and advanced to the program's first Final Four. The Orange have now made seven appearances at Championship Weekend, including five in a row.
Lisa Miller was named the first head coach in program history in June 1996. She was tasked with building the program from the ground up.
"I thought we could be successful fairly quickly," Miller said. "That first recruiting class - many of them were from the area and they grew up watching Syracuse men's lacrosse and and Roy Simmons Jr. coaching so they had a drive to catch the boys. That group was pretty special and was very competitive. That one-goal loss to Yale (in the season finale) at the end of the season was a turning point and I thought it made everyone want to commit to making the (NCAA) Tournament."
Several members of the first Syracuse teams attended the event, giving them a chance to meet the current squad.
"This event is incredibly special," Miller said. "Syracuse is a special place and the program is really strong. At the end of the day, it's all about the kids, the relationships and the bonds they build and the commitment and the loyalty and the incredible pride that they have in the program. I think you saw that tonight."
Katie Rowan '09 played for Miller and Gait. She appreciated the opportunity to relive the successes of the program.
"This is such a wonderful event," Rowan said. "There's alums from the first graduating class to the most recent Class of '16 so it's really nice to get to know everyone and to talk about our special memories of Syracuse."
The night's program featured speeches by Miller and Gait and former players Karen Healy '02, Jill (DePetris) Batcheller ''07, Bridget Looney ''09 and Kayla Treanor '16. in addition, there was a ring ceremony for members of the 2016 squad that advanced to the national semifinals.
"Thank you for all of your support and all you've done for Syracuse lacrosse," Gait said to end the evening. "We all bleed Orange and it's such a wonderful thing to have such a unique family here."
Players Mentioned
A
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