Coming off its best season ever in 2000 the Mary Washington College women's lacrosse team looked to reach even higher in 2001. With three returning All-America selections and a national preseason ranking of fourth by Inside Lacrosse, expectations were very high for the Eagles, who had finished I5-3 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in 2000.
Coach Dana Hall's Eagles succeeded in raising the bar, finishing with 15 victories. (tying the school record) and advancing to the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time in the program's history, Led by three-time All-American Bridget Geiman, the all-time leading scorer in school history, and the emergence of junior All-America. selection Briana Gervat and sophomore Pam Krarner, the Eagle offense ranked in the top twenty nationally, breaking the school mark for goals with 274. Geiman, Gervat, arid Kramer combined for 162 goals, and senior Jenni Foy tied her own school record with 37 assists to pace the offense.
The Eagle defense was equally impressive, led by fifth year senior goalkeeper Heather Carter and 360 Lacrosse.com National Defender of the Year Kate Weller, who both made the All-Tournament team at the Final Four. Carter was solid all season, but had perhaps the best outing of her career in the Eagles' loss to Middlebury in the national semifinal; making 21 saves, the fifth-most saves in a championship round game in the history of the championship. Weller collected 62 ground balls, caused 49 turnovers, and also added 14 draw controls while covering some of the top attack players in the nation. Other anchors on the defensive unit were Beth Schminke (61 ground balls, 43 caused turnovers) and Beth Curran (72 ground balls, 39 caused turnovers, 3S draw controls), who will. return to direct the defense in 2002.
The 2001 Eagles faced one of the top schedules in the nation, with NCAA Tournament teams Amherst, College of New Jersey, Salisbury, St. Mary's MD, and Washington & Lee appearing on the schedule. After starting the season 2-2, the Eagles won eight straight games, including wins over nationally-ranked Washington & Lee University and Goucher College. After another loss, the Eagles ended the regular season by topping tenth-ranked St. Mary's College, 13-9.
The Capital Athletic Conference Tournament saw wins over Catholic (in Coach Hall’s 100th win) and at St. Mary's. The Eagles entered the NCAA Tournament as the second seed at Salisbury, and ·defeated Washington & Lee and Salisbury to advance to the final four. MWC saw its season end in the national semifinal with a 14-4 loss to eventual champion Middlebury, with Geiman going down in the opening minutes with a torn ACL on the Homewood Field turf.
Despite the loss of the most successful senior class in the program's history (who went 46-16 in four years), there will again be cause for optimism in Fredericksburg in 2002: Gervat, a second team All-America pick by USA lacrosse, emerged as one of the most explosive players in the nation, scoring 50 goals and adding 18 assists, Kramer. scored 42 goals and dished out 27 assists, while rising juniors Kami McNinch and Diana Tisinger scored 19 and 15 goals, respectively.
Other attack players looking to make an impact in 2002 include senior Laura Walden and sophomores Kate Clute and Jessica Goon. The midfield unit, which was relatively inexperienced in 2001 will look to be the glue that holds the Eagle attack together in 2002. In addition to Gervat, Curran and All-America candidate McNinch, sophomore Melissa Block (team-high 82 ground balls; 40 caused turnovers), senior Meghan Twomey, junior Chrissy Swain, and sophomores Andi Sasin and Emily Nagel will fill out the potential midfield returnees.
Defensively, Schminke and senior Giselle Guarino head a group that includes sophomore goalkeeper Trish Marino, who gained valuable experience playing behind Carter a year ago, and defenders Paige Bennett and Katie Mackinnon.
The Eagles will again compete in one of the top lacrosse conferences in the nation. In 2001 four of the six Capital Athletic Conference schools were ranked throughout the season, with three moving on to the NCAA Championship, and two advancing to the quarterfinals. In addition to conference showdowns with Goucher, St. Mary's and Salisbury. The Eagles will take on top nonconference foes such as NCAA Championship finalist Amherst College, Washington & Lee University, NCAA Semifinalist College of New Jersey, Gettysburg College, and Rowan University