Charles Nailen/The Hoya
Sport: Lacrosse
Position: Defense
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
High School: St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes
School/Year: COL ’03
Major: Government
High School Highlights: Co-captain of the lacrosse team . 2002: Named First Team All-American . Named to the First Team Regional All-American in the South region . Named to the First Team all Big East team . 2001: Earned three points on two goals and one assist . Ranked fifth on the team in groundballs (34) and sixth in caused turnovers (23) . Finalist for U.S. Developmental Team . 2000: Earned two points on one goal and one assist . Collected 44 groundballs . Caused 25 turnovers.
High School: Earned varsity letters in lacrosse, field hockey, soccer and indoor track . 1999 lacrosse All-American . Washington Post 1999 Player of the Year in women’s lacrosse . Two-time All-ISL in 1998 and 1999 . Helped team to three ISL Championships in 1997, 1998, and 1999 . 1999 Washington Post All-Met team, 1998 All-Met honorable mention . Member of South I Schoolgirls National Team in 1998 and 1999 . 1999 Recipient of Daingerfield Ashton odel Athlete Award . Alexandria Sportsman Club “Lacrosse Player of the Year” in 1999 . All-State and All-ISL in field hockey in 1999 . Member of the French Honor Society and the Cum Laude Society.
When did you first start playing lacrosse? I started playing in fifth grade. It was just a part of P.E. in my school, and then I played through middle school and high school.
How would you explain lacrosse to someone who’s never seen it before? On the set attack and defense, it’s like basketball in the concept of the plays. But the way it’s set on the big field, it’s more like field hockey or soccer.
Favorite childhood memory: In general, probably just taking family trips. We go to Florida every year, so something like that.
Most prized possession: My family. When I think of something that if I lost it I wouldn’t be the same, my family is the first thing I think of.
If you could have any actress play you in a movie, who would you choose and why? I would pick Reese Witherspoon. People have actually told me that I look like her actually, but I like the movies she’s in, and she just seems like a fun, spunky person.
Favorite thing about lacrosse: I just like the intensity of it and that it’s a team sport. You can do things individually, but it’s really important how you play as a team. If there’s a weak link, everything just falls apart.
Plans for after graduation: Right now I plan to move somewhere fun with my best friend from high school and work. I don’t have a job lined up or anything. We’re thinking of San Francisco or Austin, Texas for now. I’ve lived here all my life and I love it, but I’ve never left, so I’d like to go somewhere different.
Good luck rituals or superstitions: Every year I’ve had a certain way I wear my hair, only for games – it’s a different hairstyle every year. And I usually try to eat the same thing before every game – peanut butter and jelly.
Biggest pet peeve: People who don’t work hard, but expect to reap the benefits or get the good results. Not just in sports or lacrosse, but in work and school and everything.
If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be and why? I guess I’d say my dog, Abby, because she gets to hang out and eat and sleep and play and has no responsibility. Sometimes I just get so busy with everything that it’d be nice to just do nothing.
Something that cheers you up when you’re having a bad day: Not a specific one, but a good song on the radio.
Favorite sport to watch on TV: College basketball.
Ideal job: I think it’d be fun to be an event planner, like for weddings and parties and things like that. I think that’d be really cool. I wouldn’t want a desk job and have to sit in an office all day.
How does being captain of the lacrosse team rank among your achievements? It’s a pretty high honor to be recognized by your coaches and teammates as having the ability to lead and be responsible. It’s an honor I take pretty seriously – I don’t want to let anyone down.
Favorite thing about Georgetown: I guess the area it’s located in. It’s separate enough from the city to be a real college campus, and then there’s M Street and all of the shops. It’s just a fun atmosphere to go to college in.
Biggest misconception that other people have about you: I guess just when people first meet me I can be quiet and not so outgoing, so it might come off in a negative way.
What did you want to be when you were little: A dancer. I danced for 13 years. I did all kinds – tap, jazz and ballet.
Why did you stop dancing? It just got to be too much. I played multiple sports in high school – soccer and field hockey and lacrosse – and dance took up hours after that and conflicted. So I just had to pick.
Three magazines on your ideal coffee table: People, Sports Illustrated and Shape.
Instrument: I played the piano when I was very little, like when I was in first grade. My piano teacher moved to France, and it sort of fell by the wayside after that.
Hardest thing about playing defense: I guess the hardest thing is that you have to take a situation when you don’t have the ball, but you have to dictate. A lot of people think that the person with the ball controls the situation and everyone just reacts to it. But as a defender, you have to force the person with the ball to do something, which can be hard to do.
Favorite DC radio station: 99.5 and 95.5.
If you could be great at any other sport besides lacrosse, what would you choose and why? Basketball – because I never really got into it since I’m on the shorter side of the spectrum. But, I wish I could go and play a pick-up game.
Most interesting person you’ve ever met: y aunt and uncle because they’re so intelligent and so good at what they do. They deal with health policy. They’re also well-traveled – they’ve been all over the world, so it’s interesting to hear about the things they do.
Thing you’ll miss most about college: Just the environment of having all your friends around you and living with several of your closest friends. Also, even though you have practice and classes at certain times, the freedom to plan what you want to do around that.
If you were stranded on a desert island with one CD, one book, and one person, what/who would you bring with you? CD: A CD that my best friend gave me. It’s a mix. Book: Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Person: My best friend, Meg. We’ve been best friends since fourth grade.
Person you admire the most: I’d say my older sister, Amanda (25), because she knows what she wants and she works really hard to accomplish it. And I’ve never known her to fail at anything she’s tried to do.
Biggest misconception about athletes: Sometimes people think that we don’t have to do as much in classes, but we do. And when we’re not in class, we’re on the field or working out. We’re always doing something.
Favorite place to order out in Georgetown: Romeo’s. I usually get a spinach and artichoke sandwich.
Characteristic you value most in a friend: Loyalty. When you make a mistake, they’re always there for you. They don’t care if you mess up.
Best non-sports related Georgetown memory: It’s probably hanging out with our team outside of actual games. When we do something outside of lacrosse, like hanging out after a game. That’s the thing I remember the most about sports and non-sports related things.
Favorite meal from the dining hall: Frozen yogurt, simply vanilla or peanut butter, with rainbow sprinkles.
One word you would use to describe yourself: Shy.
One word your best friend would use to describe you: Energetic.
Ideal place to live: I love the beach, but I love the snow. So I’d say this area because it’s so centrally located. You can go anywhere in a day, to the beach or to the mountains.
One piece of advice you’d give to an incoming freshman: It’s kind of a saying: “Do what you love, and love what you do.” Just because with lacrosse it’s such a time commitment with the practices and early mornings, and you can lose sight of why you’re doing it. You just want to remember why you’re doing it and why you enjoy it. It shouldn’t be a stressful experience.
Worst fear: Being alone.
One goal you have for the lacrosse team this year: To win the National Championship because we’ve gone the past two years, and we’ve never won. Every year we have a saying on the back of our practice shirts that we wear every day, and this year they say, “End with a win.”
What’s under your bed right now? Dust bunnies.
