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Show .i '! THE FORUM - MARCH 7, ATHLETICS 2012 L Have you heard about Miranda? ' o. X . fc i X Hk , ( t'7C i r Vi f c? Jjk -- - Hillary Fowler Contributing Writer ; 2 c . 0'' Miranda Min- r ( - er, starting defender for the womens soccer team, was recently included I I - i on the Deans List for her first semester at Westminster. chose I to Miner spodight ..Jl p ; i ' Spotlight Column of ' L ' t 11 ,4 , J L Lacrosse equipment is built to stand up to heavy collisions and miles of running. .1 because she is involved in several activities both campus and strives for success in all of them. She is a member of the soccer team, a full-tistudent and an employee at the Giovale Library. She teaches soccer to kids in the community and participates in various activities with her church. Miner started playing soccer around Kindergarten when her parents signed her up for recreational teams. According to Miner, she didnt have much of a choice at the time but she continued to play and dedicate her time to the sport because she loved it so much. Her favorite parts about the sport are the competition involved, being a part of a team and on-and-- off me working hard. During fall season last year, Miner was a starter for many of the teams games. On average, she played about three quarters of each game. This didnt come without hard work, however. During fall season, she spent about 18 to 25 hours per week practicing, lifting and playing games. Even though she dedicates an extensive amount of her time with soccer each week, Miner is still able to succeed academically. Some student athletes have commented on how the first semester is the most difficult because of the transition into a hectic schedule. For Miner, however, this was not the case. Since she has been playing soccer while going to school for so long she was used to the schedule and it wasnt much of a shock. Also, she took a bit of a lighter schedule for fall semester, so that helped make it easier to handle. While attending Brighton High School, Mine; this er was named Honorable Mention is an award given by the local newspaper. Also, she was on the honor roll all four years of her high All-Stat- school career. In college, Miner received the Presidential Scholarship from Westminster, and she also received the Regents Scholarship. This is a scholarstudents that took certain classes ship for te and received good grades during high school. Miner says that her drive to succeed academidesire to cally over the years has come from her learn new things. Now that she is on the soccer in-sta- team here, the fear of losing her eligibility to play also contributes to her striving for success. Succeeding in school has always been a part of Miners life. Even though school has been challenging, she has thought it to be relatively easy over the years because she enjoys it. However, the success docs not end with school; this student athlete accepts nothing but success in she dedicates time and every aspect of her life as determination to her passions. 1 Athlete's insights on lacrosse at Westminster Ian Coppock Staff Reporter At first glance, lacrosse seems little more than a game in which whoever can strike the most people wins. However, theres far more strategy and skill to it than that. Lacrosse is equal parts hockey, soccer, and basketball, said Adam Marfice, a sophomore public health major. Its definitely an intense combat sport. We each have different roles on the team, and if we dont trust each other to fulfill them, the whole thing kind of falls apart, added Wyatt Wilson, a freshman psychology major. Wilson said that lacrosse has a lot of strategy. Attackers, midfielders and defenders have to coordinate to make an unbreakable front. Lacrosse has been played in the eastern U.S. for centuries. It is well-knoas the fastest sport wn on two feet. Historically, lacrosse is much more popular on the east coast, it always has been, said Spencer Huso, a freshman marketing major. Its exploded out here though, especially in California. Its worked its way to Utah pretty quickly. Back east, like in New Jersey, kids start playing lacrosse when theyre five years old, said Chelsea Farrell, a junior psychology major. You just dont see that out here yet. Both of Westminsters teams are among the college The mens teams in the nation. national team won a championis and in in the counship 2008, group. try s top-te- n We started out in the sixth top-rank- ed of the top ten places this season, Lehr, a senior psychol- Womens lacrosse is a non-cont- act said Andy ogy major. Our teams done really well over the last few years. The womens team has also performed well, winning a regional championship and advancing to the top of nationals last year. The womens team placed third overall last year, said Car-so- n Chambers, a senior environmental studies major. Whereas sport. Female players wear only mouth and face guards. Were not allowed to hit each other, said Jillian Tesfazion, a senior psychology major. Thats how its always been for women. The first womens lacrosse game was in Scotland in the 1800s, and they sort of set that precedent. Collegiate lacrosse is organized into the divisions of the previously we hadnt even hit the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA is made athletup of most college-lev- el ics programs and conferences. Teams are also organized into the top 100. Teams are placed into different divisions based on how well they do, said Elisabeth Anderson, a senior biology major. Right now the womens team is in Division Two, but we might be moving up to Division Three because of how well we did last year. Divisions are determined by skill and size. Anderson has played lacrosse throughout her four years of college. She had no experience prior to joining and learned the game as she practiced with teammates. She said that the womens team as the mens is not as well-known team. Not as many people know about our team as wed like, she said. When most people think about womens lacrosse, they think about a quote from that movie Mean Girls. Mens and womens lacrosse also vary in rules and strategy, maybe more than any other sport. Mens lacrosse is a sport, the stick being used to strike full-cont- act opposing players as much as throw the ball. Consequently, male players enter games equipped with padding and helmets. Mens Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) and Womens Collegiate Lacrosse Association (WCLA). The mens lacrosse team has about 40 members, while the womens has around 25. This is due to each teams different rules. The number is also smaller because womens lacrosse is very new, relatively, said Dani South-wort- h, a junior political science major. Regardless of how the game is played or who plays it, members of both teams agreed that their Westminster fan base is very important. The support really does make said Anderson. a difference, Come watch our games! Its a fun experience and we like seeing people there. Students can learn more about upcoming games and the teams by reading Joshua Fishers emailed newsletter or by visiting www.westminstergriffins.com. f I |