2003 TUFTS WOMEN

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

2003 TUFTS WOMEN'S LACROSSE PREVIEW

Eighteenth-year Head Coach Carol Rappoli feels the Tufts Women's Lacrosse team has upgraded substantially as it enters the 2003 season. A veteran defense will back a young and promising offense as the Jumbos look to improve upon last year's 7-5 record. The team takes it annual Spring Break trip to Panama City, Florida next week and plays its first game against East Stroudsburg on Tuesday, March 18.

Seniors Kathy Kenney (Needham, MA), Anne Takesian (Needham, MA) and Ari Kristan (South Windsor, CT) are returning starters on a defense that ranked 23^rd nationally last season allowing an 8.00 goals against average. Kenney and Takesian, both four-year starters at Tufts, played together on three Massachusetts state championship teams at Needham HS from 1997-99. Kenney was picked to the All-NESCAC Second Team for the second straight year last spring. Takesian moves back from midfield to line defender this spring. Kristan is also a four-year starter with a 7.84 career goals against average. She was fourth in NESCAC with last year's 8.15 mark. Sophomore Jess Fisher (Brookville, NY) is a good young player who started all 12 games last year. Freshman Hilary Pentz (Woodinville, WA) is a newcomer. Sophomore Maureen Wiley (Bellevue, WA) will back up Kristan.

Junior Lauren Peach (Maplewood, NJ), another player who has started every game she's played at Tufts, and classmate Christie Langenberg (Weston, MA) are the top two returning players at midfield defense. Peach led Tufts with 36 ground balls and 27 caused turnovers while also scoring 11 goals with nine assists in 2002. Sophomore Lauren Herman (Bala Cynwyd, PA) and freshman Meredith Harris (Ridgewood, NJ) with either start or play plenty at this position. Bucknell transfer Dana Panzer (Sayville, NY) is very athletic and adds more depth here.

The offense is young and skilled, with just one senior attack. Four of the top five scorers are back overall. Junior Willow Hagge led the team with 26 goals and 34 points last season. She will be the focal point of a five-player rotation at midfield attack. Senior Maureen Mahon (Oswego, NY) has 70 points in 43 career games. Sophomores Sarah Lipson (Arlington, MA) and Megan Doughty (Brunswick, ME) showed skill in limited action last spring. Freshman Dena Miller (Denver, CO) was the second leading scorer in the state of Colorado last year.

Up front, junior Kristin Salderelli (Yortown Heights, NY), sophomore Jen Griffin (Northborough, MA) and freshman Ryan Killeen (Lewes, DE) will rotate. Salderelli led Tufts with 14 assists last season to go with 18 goals and looks to have a break-out year. Griffin, the 2001 Boston Globe High School Player of the Year, will get more playing time to show her stuff.

NESCAC will be very competitive, as always. Middlebury won its second straight NCAA National Championship and fourth overall last spring. Amherst and Williams are also in the upper-echelon. Tufts, which finished 3-5 in the league for eighth place last spring, looks to move up into the second tier of teams and compete for one of the seven conference tournament berths.