Lacrosse grows in popularity at SMU

By Abby Zimmer
Copy Editor

Female and male students alike have been seen on the Saint Mary’s University campus carrying what look like sticks with nets on the end. What are these contraptions used for? Why, playing lacrosse, of course!
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This fall, sophomores Lauren Mazzuca and Lexi Guzik came together to form a women’s lacrosse team on campus. After struggling to find interest last year, the club sport has now grown to 20 members.

“What is great about lacrosse is that it is a mixture of sports put together, so it is easy to pick up and start playing at any point,” said Guzik, who coaches the team and acts as co-captain with Mazzuca and freshman Libby Perkins.

The captains have focused this season on teaching their team members the skills needed to play lacrosse. They have scrimmaged against teams like University of Wisconsin–Stout and University of St. Thomas rather than join an actual league.

“I am just extremely proud of the progress the girls have made,” said Guzik. “Each one of them has come so far and worked incredibly hard to get where we are as a team.”

The men’s lacrosse team, also a club sport, is currently a young team, with only one senior out of their 12 members. “We’re open to new members,” said sophomore captain Rob Klein, encouraging students to contact him at rkklei05@smumn.edu for more information about joining the team.

Students interested in joining the women’s lacrosse team should contact Guzik at agguzi06@smumn.edu.

The MIAC does not currently recognize lacrosse as a varsity sport. In the future, both teams would be interested in joining other MIAC schools to push lacrosse to become a varsity sport. UST and Saint John’s University have already invited SMU’s men’s lacrosse team to join the other MIAC schools in a lacrosse league, but they decided to stick with their current league, the Great Lakes Lacrosse League, until they have enough players. According to Klein, this would be a minimum of 20 players, since UST and SJU have around 30 players each.

Both teams are ending their season this weekend. The men’s team will be in Madison for the Great Lakes Lacrosse League Championships, while the women play at UW-Stout.