Co-Captains log: Stardate 5-16-09


I had trouble sleeping this morning. It's game day. We have entered the Roanoke Starsystem.
Live Long and Prosper. Lax for Life.

Back from Maine....and Regional Champs! It was a fantastic weekend. I cannot believe we are going to the Final Four again.

Apparently Lobsters are lucky. That's how I will start.

After getting half of the drive to Colby done on Thursday night, we spent the afternoon in South Portland, ME, at one of the freshies' homes. It was unbelievable...right on the water...we saw a seal...and had LOBSTER SANDWICHES! Now, I am not a big fish/crustacean/anything that isn't chicken or steak, but lobster might be my new best friend. And I think that lobster might be the key to our success...

We played Williams on Saturday, and while it sure wasn't pretty, we were able to pull out a W. It was a great game and showed us that we cannot let up after the first half. But overall, it was a win and that is what mattered. We spent Saturday night at the Lobster Trap on the river in Waterville in a crazy thunderstorm. Thunderstorms are my favorite kind of weather and it was a wonderful night...and, of course, I had more lobster.

That brings us to Sunday and the game against Middlebury. Last season, we beat Middlebury at home in the Regional Championships to make it to the final four. It was the first time in a long time that Middlebury didn't make it to the Final Four and we knew that they were going to come out more fired up than anything because we ended their season last year. But we stayed calm, composed, and confident and came out on top. I felt so relaxed the entire game...I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to win. We beat them everywhere on the field. We controlled the tempo and the emotion of the game. It was a great game for us...one of the best I think I have seen us play. Thanks, Mr. Lobster. Sorry I had to eat you.

The feeling of winning the Regional again is amazing. We had to beat two very good NESCAC teams and that makes us stronger. I don't think we have played our best lacrosse yet and that is scary. This week is finals week and everyone has tons on their plate since we will be flying down to VA on Thursday...lots and lots of work. But hey, it's definitely worth it, just like an 8 hour drive to Maine is definitely worth 2 big W's.

I can't wait to get down there....this senior season is going so well and I never want it to end. Last year, our seniors' goal was to make it to the Final Four and this year my personl goal was to live up to them. We have made it to the Final Four again and I feel relief because I feel like we are living up to our goal. But nothing is stopping us from going to the Big Dance this year. Bring it on, F&M.

Oh, and I hope they have lobster in Salem.

(To read about our past weekend and live through every moment of it, check out Kaillie Briscoe's blog for the local paper: http://www.uticaod.com/archive/x1194162289/BLOG-Kallie-Briscoe-at-the-NCAA-lacrosse-tournament

It's pretty funny....) Enjoy! AND SEE YOU IN SALEM!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday we won our third Liberty League Championship in a row! In my four years at Hamilton, we have played Union in the championship game every single year. Yesterday was an epic battle between two very good teams that had a lot to play for. The senior class now is 3 and 1 against Union in the Liberty Championship! It feels pretty amazing.

Last weekend, we suffered our second loss of the season to Union. While it was a crushing defeat, we needed it. I think it turned on a lot of lights in people's heads and made us realize that we need to play our best every game because everyone will be playing their best game against us. We have a target on our backs and while that can be overwhelming and put a lot of pressure on us, it also gives us a driving force to succeed. We saw that driving force this past weekend when we had our two rematches with William Smith and Union.

Each game was a defensive battle and we came out dominating. After a week of hard work at practice, Coach's surgery (she tore her ACL cheering for our OT win against William Smith a few weeks ago), and school work, us coming out on top showed what our team can do. I think Union gave us our hardest game of the season yet, and now we know that we can survive and conquer. The freshmen played unbelievably and were incredibly composed for such a huge weekend. I don't see them as freshmen anymore...they are all grown up.

We are all getting together tonight for some Chinese food and to watch the NCAA selection show to find out what our schedule will be for the next week! We are very excited to hear what will happen but are trying not to get our hopes up either for a chance at hosting. Only 5.5hours until we find out!!!!!

As a senior, a lot rides on each game now since there is a chance it could be my last. All of us seniors on the team cherish each day of practice and hope that there is more to come. We all plan on playing for these next two weeks and making it as far as we did last year. We have quite the challenge in front of us, but we all believe that we can do this.

Until next time....
 

It has been two weeks since my last post and what more can I say than that time flies.

Since my last post, we have had 2 league games as well as our last non-league contest. We came out on top in a close overtime win against William Smith last weekend. It was a good win for us as a young team. Learning to take over close games and come out on top is a needed skill we are still working on, but it is coming along.

Last week, we traveled to Ithaca to play. The head coach there used to be the head coach at Hamilton so it is always a fun game to play. We played well and had an emphatic win.

This past weekend, sadly, was mine and three others' senior weekend. I can remember trying out for the team as a walk-on my freshman year and I cannot believe that 4 years have passed since that moment. As a class, we have accomplished tons. We have two league championships under our belts (currently working on our third), made it to the NCAA Regional Championship our sophomore year, and took home an amazing National Championship our junior year...the first team national championship in school's history. We have two All-Americans and the player that holds the most team records in program's history (5 out of 6). We have a lot to be proud of, but as we get nearer to the end of our college careers, we know that we will miss WLAX at the Tech the most.

Good thing our season isn't over yet...and we don't plan on it being through for a while.

We are coming upon our last weekend of league games this coming weekend, and if we win both, we should host the Liberty League Tournament (our 3rd time in 4 years). As we work all week preparing for the games, our team only has one thing on our minds...making sure we solidify our spot in the Liberty League and bringing it back to Hamilton again.

It is an exciting time for us. Time for us to bring it. Bring it on, Liberty League.

Until next time....Peace, gnomies.

Happy April!

The beginning of April is a great time for our team...especially Coach. Her birthday happens to be April Fool's Day, and so every year we conjure up some crazy prank, "borrow" the keys from our assistant, grab the team after practice, and voila!....something great for Coach to walk into the next morning on her birthday.

This year we decided to fill her office with 432 very large balloons, about 40 of which were filled with paper confetti so that when she walked in and started popping the balloons, the mess got a little heavier with the confetti filled ones...we are bunch of little gnomies.
see here --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS3nvHQ4bV8

Needless to say, we got Coach, again, and it was a great beginning to April. On the lax side of things, we had our second weekend of league as we traveled up to the North Country to play Clarkson and St. Lawrence. We had another great weekend and are now 4-0 in the league, 8-1 overall. We had a ton of fun playing up there, although it did rain/ice both days. I think we played our best lacrosse yet. Things are looking really good.

This week promises to be a great week of practice leading up to our showdown against William Smith on Friday. It may still be raining/snowing/icing/God knows up here in Clinton, NY, but April showers bring May flowers....and warm lax weather.

Until next time....Let's go blue!

Hello again!

When I wrote my last post, I hoped the next time I would write would be warmer...and it finally is! This past weekend we had highs of close to 70 and nothing but sunshine...it was a wonderful way to open up the regular season.

Since my last post, we have played 7 games, won 6, spent a week in San Antonio, TX, and spent a wonderful day at Sea World. Things are going well.

We are coming along as a team, starting to learn each other on and off the field. The freshmen are doing well and I think that Spring Break has done a lot for our team dynamic. We are a team that prides ourselves on our relationship as a team and supporting one another. I really feel like we are  getting closer and closer.

We played 5 games over the break and worked really hard everyday at practice. It showed this weekend when we opened up the Liberty League and won both games. Everyone was upbeat and excited about how well we played together. It is a great feeling to walk off the field with everyone's spirits high and excitement for the next games.

As school gets back in session, spring will fly by. It will be a tough week of practice ahead to prepare for next weekend's games, but the team looks forward to the challenges Coach will present us with. I am very excited to get this season underway! Bring it on, Regular Season!

Until next time...and hopefully it will not be a month...Stay classy, Clinton, NY.

Hello from Clinton, NY (or the Arctic Tundra...)!

It's Catie Gibbons, a senior defender from Hamilton.

We just finished our very first week of lacrosse practice for the upcoming 2009 season! The team loves to be together, and so the weeks leading up to the very first day were full of anticipation. So excited and so happy to be together, everyone has been putting it a 110% everyday at practice and really focusing on the tasks at hand. Even though we haven't been able to make it outside yet because of the temps and snow, we are hoping to make it out soon!

We lost four amazing seniors last year, but we have gained some pretty incredible freshmen and they are fitting right in with us! They're great! We like to keep practices light and upbeat and they add just as much humor to our team as they add talent. I can't wait to play this season with them.

We have our first test on Saturday with a scrimmage day at Union College against Union, Middlebury, Amherst, and William Smith. Everyone is excited to get out on the field and see what we have put together so far and test ourselves. It's going to be a great day.

That's all for now...early morning lift tomorrow. Hopefully next time I write it will be warmer.