WOMEN’S LACROSSE GU Will Attempt To Better Its Best By Meredith cCloskey Hoya Staff Writer

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Junior midfielder Melissa Biles competes in the National Championship game against Maryland last season.

With the momentum from its remarkable success in 2001, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team enters the 2002 season faced with the challenge of topping its best season ever. Last season brought the Hoyas the inaugural Big East Championship, a perfect 6-0 conference record, a No. 2 national ranking, their fourth-straight NCAA tournament bid and an appearance in the championship game. Head Coach Kim Simons guided the team to a Georgetown-best 17 wins and received her second Coach of the Year award.

Despite the numerous team and personal accomplishments, the end of the 2001 season was bittersweet. Georgetown fell to long-time rival Maryland in a 14-13 heartbreaking double overtime game, which handed the Terrapins their seventh-straight national championship.

After graduating half of its starters, the Hoyas will have to look to the remaining members of the squad as well as freshmen to fill the gaps of last season’s key players. The absence of All-Americans attack Sheehan Stanwick (MSB ’01), midfielder Caitlin McLean (COL ’01) and goalie Bowen Holden (COL ’01) will be most noticeable. Stanwick led the Hoyas attack for the past four years, topping the Georgetown record books in career goals, assists and points (232, 98, 330). McLean sits second in career groundballs with 214, and Holden tallied 747 saves in her 66 career games, good for second overall.

Now in her sixth season at Georgetown, Simons is confident that her returning players will step up and fill in the gaps as a team.

“We have a lot of players that on any given day at any given moment could be very dangerous,” Simons said.

Simons will look for leadership on and off the field from the three captains, senior attack Erin Elbe, senior defender Kristin Raneri and junior defender Melissa Biles. Elbe, a three-time Brine IWLCA South Regional All-American and member of the U.S. Elite Squad, will have to face the pressure of filling Stanwick’s shoes.

“I think Erin will be under a lot of pressure from other teams, but she handles it very well,” Simons said. “[Stanwick] helped Erin in that she often drew the top defender. Now Erin is going to have that additional pressure of having the best defender of the other team play on her.”

Simons also expects Sheehan’s sister, junior attack Wick Stanwick, to take charge on offense. Wick is also moving her way up the record lists. Last season she had 48 goals, placing her seventh in single-season goals. Her performance also tied her for 10th in points (59) and 18th in draws (25).

“Wick Stanwick is going to be the player that complements [Elbe] as far as running the attack and being the other player that gets a lot of the attention, because she puts the ball in the cage,” Simons said.

Returning starters senior Kate Ahearn and junior Liz Ryan will command the midfield.

“Liz Ryan, who I think is going to have a breakout season this year, has always been a huge midfielder for us. She’s been that flue that does the little things that you don’t really get a lot of recognition for,” Simons said.

Sophomore Anouk Peters and freshman Allison Chambers will also play an important role, which will be delayed until later in the season due to injury. Freshman Lauryn Bernier will also compete for a starting position in the midfield, but is a strong player all-around, according to Simons.

The defense will also stand a difficult test without Holden in goal, but has a variety of options in filling the void. Senior Chandler Vicchio, who stood in for Holden after an ACL injury last spring, has earned the starting goalie spot. Junior Claire Foster and freshman Sarah Robinson will also vie for the position, allowing Georgetown to switch up the defense to find a powerful combination.

“All three goalies bring very different things to the table. Claire is left-handed, Sarah’s taller, and Chandler has more experience,” Simons said. “Chandler Vicchio has really come on strong to really separate herself as the starting keeper going into the beginning of the season.”

Overall, the Hoyas are focusing on short-term goals rather than dwelling on any pressure they might feel to match their past performance. Georgetown downed 12 ranked opponents last year, outscoring them by almost 100 goals combined.

“Our staff and team don’t feel an incredible amount of pressure. I thought maybe we would a lot more than we do,” Simons said. “We’re looking at it like we have something to prove, which is a position we’ve always liked, having to prove ourselves to everyone else.

This season’s schedule is no less challenging than last. Georgetown opens up at home against Richmond, and follows with a matchup against Princeton two days later on the road. The Hoyas will have until early April to prepare to battle Maryland and North Carolina, and will also face Syracuse and other Big East foes along the way.

Still in its early stages, the Big East should not present a great deal of competition for Georgetown. The Hoyas were unanimously picked to win the conference. Elbe was unanimously selected as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and was named to the Preseason All-Big East Team, along with Stanwick.

There still remains confidence that the Hoyas can repeat or even further their success from last year. Right now, they are taking it one step at a time.

“We always focus on just getting better, playing hard, good teamwork and consistent effort,” Simons said. “As long as we focus on those things, the wins will come.”