[ Golden Gater Online - November 13, 1997 ]
Chandra Levy
Staff Writer
Lacrosse isn't very familiar to most people in the western United States, but according to senior nursing major Jennifer Taylor, this game is given a lot more attention on the east coast.
"Some see lacrosse as an elitist sport," said Taylor, who is one of the founding members of the SF State Ladies Lacrosse Club.
Taylor, along with Elaine Bautista, tried to start a lacrosse team last semester but it was too late in the season to get members. This year though, they are a little more optimistic.
"We only had one person show up at the first meeting," Taylor said. "But we want to get more people interested because we know that there are plenty of women out there who are interested in the sport."
So far, the six committed members in the club have been practicing from 7 to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 5 to 7 p.m. on Fridays in preparation for the beginning of play in the spring season.
The club has received loaner sticks from the junior varsity lacrosse team at UC Berkeley, but they still need more equipment, goals, and a field to practice on.
"We were told that we couldn't practice or play on the soccer field," Taylor said.
According to SF State Intramural/Recreation Director Heather Tyrrell, all the fields on campus are in poor shape at the moment.
"The football and baseball fields are having problems with irrigation," Tyrrell said. "It's really messy out there, so we really don't want them to play or even practice on those fields."
Lacrosse originated in Canada where the native Indians were often rough and brutal using the sticks to strike the opponents. They played, with thousands participating, throughout the range of a territory.
Canadian settlers adapted the native game and it eventually spread south to the United States.
The main objective of lacrosse is to throw, scoop, or kick a small rubber ball into the opposing teams' goal.
According to Taylor, who played a half year on the Lewis and Clark College team, lacrosse is more similar to basketball then soccer "because it is a man-on-[man] sport and individuals can play all over the field."
Although men's and women's lacrosse is similar in many aspects, one rule separates the two wherein the women cannot make body contact.
"In men's lacrosse, the players are decked out in protective gear," Taylor said. "The women just have mouth guards and no other protection. It's not a matter of wrestling for the ball like in the men's game."
According to Taylor, there are a number of non-school-sponsored college and high school clubs which have transfer athletes from the East Coast. The clubs can play against such schools as UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Saint Mary's College and California State University at Humboldt.
Tyrrell said that since the school's athletic clubs don't fall under the intercollegiate athletics program, the funding they receive is usually solely done by the club members.
"We won't be in a league yet like the other schools," Taylor explained. "First we need to get support from the other SF State teams and athletes when they're done with their seasons...and we need a coach and people who want to volunteer."
[ Golden Gater - November 13, 1997 ]