Head women’s lacrosse coach Elaine Jones says her team is committed, excited and motivated.
What are your thoughts on last season’s semifinal appearance, and what are your goals heading into 2014?
I was pleased with last year’s semifinal appearance. I thought the team made great strides throughout the year, and to be one of four teams to make the Big South Tournament was a great achievement. It’s always a goal to outdo what you did the year before, so in the back of our minds, we hope to make it past the first round of the tournament and make it to the finals. We would like to give ourselves an opportunity to win it all.
What can fans expect to see on the field in 2014?
My hope is that they see a lot of goals. We returned a very strong offense after only losing one player. Coming off a season-ending injury, Kacey Norwood ’15 is back and should work in nicely with the offense this year.
If you could use three words to describe this season’s squad, what would you say?
Committed, excited and motivated.
Do you see anyone emerging as a team leader?
I think everyone made so much progress in the fall that it is more of a group of leaders rather than any one individual. I think it’s going to be a really good overall team effort. Obviously, I think Lauren Prasnicki ’14 returning as a senior attacker is an offensive leader for us, but others are stepping in and filling roles that they may not have gotten an opportunity to last year.
Is the team preparing any differently for its second year of Big South Conference action?
I think all the hard work was done last year. As a team, our skills are better, we’re mentally tougher, and we have a better understanding of what it takes to reach a championship.