W&L (Washington & Lee) Women's Lacrosse

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

Anyone see that the Generals women’s lacrosse team is 8-0 ranked #2 nationally. Within the top 20 women’s ranked teams 14 are undefeated with Salisbury posting the most games played at 9-0,F&M is ranked number 1. The NESCAC is struggling to play games which will hurt their chances in the post season. I’m thinking the ladies have a real shot at a national title.

[TidewaterLax]

Well, at least the ladies have a shot

[Faxlax]

That has been an incredibly strong program for at least a decade. National runner up about 3 years ago.

[Dehuntshigwa’es]

Coach BDO has been outstanding since setting foot on campus. They got to the semi finals in 2027 losing to tcnj in double OT. I think she was both a soccer and lax goalie in college, it’s almost always that d and goalies make good coaches. Gennies Women are knocking on the national title door

[lovelax]

I love what the coach has done here as well. Great academics on par with Nescac with supportive admin and warm weather (unlike Nescac) Like every year the ODAC schedule does not help the Gennies prepare for the tough NCAA tourney; in addition, unlike past years, they were not able to schedule tough out of conference games (Gettysburg F&M Salisbury etc.) I like the youth on this team but the lack of a tough schedule may be their downfall yet again. Nothing the coach can do about that but yes, she is an excellent one.

[cltlax]

Getting close to the start of the season and no assistant coach on the website. Any word on additions to Coach Coleman's staff?

[cltlax]

Getting close to the start of the season and no assistant coach on the website. Any word on additions to Coach Coleman's staff?

Answering my own question:

https://generalssports.com/news/2023/1/ ... staff.aspx

[cltlax]

Reposting from the D3 Mens forum. Great to hear.

I realize this is men’s lacrosse, but if you will allow me I would like to shift gears on you a bit and address W&L’s women’s lacrosse and recruiting in general and its impact on all sports at W&L including men’s lacrosse.
As an old long poler and father of a W&L women’s laxer (’02) I have been fascinated with the change occurring in your alma mater. Women’s lacrosse in one of several examples of a program that simply accelerated with a very smart hire in coach Brooke O’Brien. She in my mind is the future of the game, terribly smart, knows how to market, and is fearless in spreading the gospel of what she believes. She left a legacy that no General can ignore as her presence has remained impacting the school in general.
Coach Coleman seems to be on the right track even if her public persona is more muted than O’Brien’s, it seems to be successfully building on a solid foundation.
Speaking of recruiting, a subject I follow with great interest, look at the thirteen women recruits the Generals pulled in starting this year. All of you need to look at their school vita. Every single one had grades of 4.0 or much higher with AP courses galore. Yet there is something else all of you need to take note of as it impacts all recruiting in all sports.
Your school has in the last few years been emphasizing and accelerating leadership in its recruiting and undergrad curriculum. Exceptional applicants love this and if you dig deeper every single one of the thirteen women recruits were presidents of the class or school as well as the captain of her team. The same thing can be said about all the athletes recruited for men's and women's sports at W&L. There are a lot of bright kids attending demanding schools, but not many emphasize leadership as your alma mater now does at every level! This enhances recruiting!
Finally, notice a trend in where many of the young women recruits went to secondary school. A growing majority did not go to boarding schools or private day schools as my daughter and I did, they went to public schools. The same thing can be said for the ten (so far) recruits for next year's class. Everyone went to a public high school. That is a huge shift! Why is this important? Given the size of these public high schools, the competition is far more intense in all sports. This is a national trend that has been increasing over the last 25 years for boys and girls lacrosse and W&L is the beneficiary on many levels.
I have a grandson in Georgia who is one of the top high school attack laxers in the south (A Connecticut Yankee knowing I have a nationally ranked grandson laxer from Georgia??). Why am I pushing W&L? Look at what I wrote above.