This year is the inaugural season for the University of Tampa’s women’s lacrosse team, and the team is excited about this new opportunity. So far the Spartan team has only played one game against top ranked team Rollins, and that game has paved the way for many great things to happen this season. Coach Kelly Gallagher believes that playing Rollins College for their first game is what is going to set the tone and determination of the team this season. Even though the Spartan team is on the young side, Gallagher thinks it leaves a lot of room for the players to grow and prosper, including senior Tess Hooker and sophomore Katie Delaney.
“We are a very young and unique team especially because none of them have played college lacrosse before,” Gallagher said. “The team has great resilience, a lot of heart and some unproved confidence. They really relate and push each other everyday, which will really help them grow as players and as a team in the future.”
Not only does Gallagher think the team has a lot of potential, the players see the potential there too and have some very strong goals set for the season.
“Personally, I’d like to become better as a player and leader,” Hooker said. “I haven’t played since high school so coming back to such a competitive sport is difficult. I’d like the team to set the tone for the years to come after I leave.”
Along with personal goals, there are collaborative team goals that Gallagher and the players want to work on. She wants to see the girls work harder every time they step on the field and to improve as a team.
“The goals of the team are essentially just to work as hard as we can,” Delaney said. “And to consistently stay positive and develop our playing skills both individually and as a team.”
With all these goals set for the season, the team has taken what it learned from its first game against Rollins and is using it to motivate the team even more.
“Playing Rollins for our first game was a pretty big deal,” Gallagher said. “I saw a lot of great things that really highlights the potential we have. We do have to work on our consistency and composure, but it was definitely a great learning experience.”
“Rollins was tough, which we expected it to be, considering they are nationally ranked,” Delaney said. “But facing a strong team like Rollins gave us a lot of opportunity to learn more and improve our own team.”
There is a lot going for the women’s lacrosse team this season and it will be exciting to see how they move forward as a new program, especially with all of the hard work that has been put into this inaugural team.
“I am just so excited that we have the team,” Hooker said. “I have been working
since I got to UT to get a lacrosse team, and it is one of the greatest feelings to see your hard work pay off.”
The next women’s lacrosse game is away against Queens, N.C., and their next home game is March 4 against Newberry.
Paige Shallcross can be reached at paige.shallcross@spartans.ut.edu.