Get to know several standout athletes

Lauryn Semling | UW-Stevens Point | Sr. | D

• Favorite pro sports team: Packers, Brewers
• Place most like to travel: South America
• Strangest nickname you have: Pounds, because my initials are LBS
• Favorite sport besides the one you play: Basketball
• Favorite food: Apples with peanut butter
• Favorite quality in your head coach: The way she sacrifices for us and will do anything to make our program the best it can be.
• Three words to describe you: Hardworking, caring and independent

What do you want to do when you graduate?

When I graduate from UWSP with my Dietetics major and Spanish minor I want to continue my education in graduate school where I can become a sports dietitian. I want to stay within athletics because it has always been a part of my life and life without it is unimaginable. I want to be able to educate athletes to change their eating habits which will help them increase their performance. 

Lauren Karsten  | Wheaton (Ill.) | Jr. | D 

• College or pro sports? College
• Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate peanut butter
• Latest read: The Help
• Favorite class: Human Anatomy
• Movies or TV? Movies
• Winter or Summer Olympics? Summer
• Favorite quality in your head coach: Challenges us to use our gifts to play soccer for the glory of God
• Mountains or beach? Beach

What is the most difficult obstacle you’ve had to overcome?
As an athlete, my most difficult obstacle was when I tore my ACL my sophomore year of college.  It taught me a lot about myself, and looking back on it now, I would never trade that experience for anything.  Sports have always been a big part of my life, and when I wasn’t able to play anymore, it helped instill in me that the only thing I will forever be able to depend upon is my relationship with Christ.  Sports are a tremendous gift, and I’m so thankful for the ability to play them at Wheaton, but they don’t last forever. 

Rebecca Roth | Hardin-Simmons | Sr. | GK

• College or pro sports? College
• Favorite pre-game meal: PB&J and a banana
• Last song you heard on your iPod: Lift Me Up by The Afters
• Latest read: The Shack
• Favorite sport besides the one you play: Baseball. I grew up watching my brother play.
• Favorite quality in your head coach: His commitment in soccer and in life.
• Mountains or beach? Mountains
• Favorite hobby: Caring for animals

What is one game you’ll never forget and why?

The 2010 national title game. It was such a great representation of the season that taught us far more than what it takes be a champion on the field.

Do you have any superstitions or pre-game rituals?

Of course. We all do.

Abby Loar | Trinity (Texas) | Sr. | F 

• Country or city? City
• Last song you heard on your iPod: Bowspirit by Balmorhea
• Favorite ice cream flavor: Pistachio
• Favorite TV show: Friends
• Lucky number: 10
• Strangest nickname you have: Fabbs
• Celebrity crush: Ryan Gosling
• Favorite sport besides the one you play: Baseball

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans. And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate. It’s just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there. Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn’t have expected. So live and trust in all of it. Build all of your roads on today, because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans.

Abby Goss | Puget Sound | Sr. | MF

• Favorite athlete: Alexis Sanchez
• Cat or dog? Dog!!
• Place most like to travel: India
• Latest read: This is Where I Leave You
• Winter or Summer Olympics? Summer
• Favorite sport besides the one you play: Tennis
• Favorite food – Thai 

What makes a good teammate?

A good teammate is a hard worker and is dedicated to the team 100 percent on and off the field. You never have to doubt the judgment of a good teammate because you can trust that they are always acting in the best interest of the team.  They give it their all in every practice, every game, and do it all with a smile. 

What do you want to do when you graduate? 

After graduation I plan on taking a year off to travel, volunteer and figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. 

Amanda Davis | William Smith | Sr. | GK 

• Favorite athlete: Tobin Heath
• Last artist you heard on your iPod: Frank Ocean
• Place most like to travel: Greece
• Latest read: The Art of Racing in the Rain
• Favorite TV show: Modern Family
• Celebrity crush: Channing Tatum
• Winter or Summer Olympics? Summer
• Mountains or beach? Beach

What is your all-time favorite sporting moment?

Winning the quarterfinals game my freshman year in double overtime.

What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?

Relax and hang with friends.

Lidija Barauskas | Emory | Sr. | MF

• Favorite Pre-game meal: Chicken and yellow rice
• Cat or dog? Dog
• Favorite topping on a pizza: Mushrooms
• Favorite class: Child Development
• Strangest nickname you have: Ladeej
• Road trip or flight? Road trip
• Winter or Summer Olympics? Summer
• Mountains or beach? Mountains

What do you want to do when you graduate?

I plan to go to law school and then on to work in child or patient advocacy. 

Do you have any superstitions or pre-game rituals?

I have to braid both my hair and at least one other person’s hair on my team before any game in order to get a positive outcome in the game.