Britt LaVaute and the Team Among National Leaders in D3

Check out the write-up by SID Chris Gondek about how our team and our players compare to others in D3.

The Hartwick women's lacrosse team ranks among the Division III national statistical leaders after the latest release from the NCAA. The Hawks are 5-5 thus far this season after an Empire 8 split this past weekend.
          
Hartwick ranks in the NCAA's top-25 in caused turnovers this season with an average of 10.4 per game. The Hawks have registered 104 caused turnovers thus far this season with all 18 players recording at least one. With six games still left on the regular season schedule, 'Wick is already just one caused turnover shy of the team's total in 2010 and two behind the 2009 team's season mark.
          
The Hawks also rank in the top-40 in ground balls per game averaging 22.5 per game for 37^th. Five Hawks have at least 20 ground balls this season led by freshman goalie Steph Luce (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs HS) who has 29. Senior midfielder Hannah Kennedy (Avon, CT/Avon HS) has 28.
          
Senior Brittany LaVaute (Skaneateles, NY/Skaneateles HS) is the highest-ranked Hawk in the NCAA's individual statistical leaders. She ranks 25^th nationally in caused turnovers averaging 2.22 per outing. She has 20 CT's in nine games this season and 66 for her career at Hartwick.

Lax-4-Life

This year's team philanthropy project serves Lax-4-Life, an organization raising money for suicide prevention and awareness. This Saturday, both Hartwick and their opponents, Elmira, will sport Lax-4-Life shirts and bracelets during warm-ups to raise awareness for the cause. Both teams have also raised money through fundraising efforts, with all proceeds going to this important cause. In total, 63 Lax-4-Life games were held during the 2011 season. This year, they are looking to improve on that number. Below are the goals of Lax-4-Life:

*Raise awareness for suicide prevention
*Erase the stigma associated with suicide and depression
*Educate parents, coaches, students, and the community about warning signs and issues associated with suicide
*Understanding & assisting students with the pressures of life in high school and college
*Provide resources & outlets for those dealing with depression, bullying or suicidal thoughts
*Help aid those left behind after a suicide

Suicide affects many more people than we think. Below are a few statistics that illustrate its prevalance:
- Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 10-19 year olds
- Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among college age students
- The number of suicides is slim in comparison to the number of suicide attempts per year

It is important for us to know the warning signs. Although suicide can happen suddenly,without any warning signs, 75% of those who die of suicide exhibit some combination of the below signs:
- Appearing depressed or sad most of the time (Untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide)
- Talking or writing about death and suicide
- Withdrawing from family and friends
- Feeling hopeless
- Feeling helpless
- Feeling strong anger or rage
- Feeling trapped like there is no way out of a situation
- Experiencing dramatic mood changes
- Abusing drugs or alcohol
- Exhibiting a change in personality
- Acting impulsively
- Losing interest in most activities
- Experiencing a change in sleeping habits
- Experiencing a change in eating habits
- Performing poorly at work or in school
- Giving away prized possessions
- Writing a will
- Feeling excessive guilt or shame
- Acting recklessly

For more information on this cause and the Lax-4-Life program, visit http://www.lax-4-life.org/

We hope you can help us in our efforts even if you cannot attend our designated Lax-4-Life game this Saturday. For those of you in the area, please show your support by coming out to our game.
Hartwick vs. Elmira at 3 PM this Saturday at Wright Stadium.

Season Update!



After Saturday’s conference opener against Utica, we now stand halfway through our 16 game season with a record of 4-4. Our performance versus Utica was our strongest so far this season, with hopes of only getting better as we continue with our league play as well as visiting Marywood and hosting cross-town rival SUNY Oneonta in non-conference play. Our team’s play thus far showed glimpses of our potential as well as exploiting areas of concern. With seven freshmen on the team, nerves played a major factor in our first few games. We played a little bit with the line-up each game in order to find the proper mix of players, designed and redesigned plays, broke down film to show our strengths and weaknesses, and planned practices to fix little reoccurring issues. Although 4-4 is likely not as great of a record as many of us had hoped for, we are fortunate enough to have played games when we were up, down, and close games until the end. The experience these games have given our relatively young team is invaluable as we now look to fix the issues exploited so early in the season as we continue with our league play.

Although our wins and losses have all been great team efforts, a few of our season’s highlights so far feature key individual performances. Lisa Littleton, a freshman midfielder from Yorktown, NY, wasted no time making an impact as she was named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week following her first ever collegiate game against Mt. St. Mary, recording 3 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls, 2 draw controls and 2 caused turnovers. Even more crucial than her scoring, Lisa’s draw controls helped our team regain momentum at a pivotal point in the game.

Brittany LaVaute, a senior midfielder from Skaneateles, NY, joined an elite list within the Hartwick Lacrosse family as she scored her 100^th career point in our home game against Wells. Britt finished the game with 4 goals, 1 assist, 4 draw controls, 1 ground ball and 1 caused turnover, displaying her well-rounded play throughout the field. Her fourth goal of the game, assisted by Carly Newman, put her over the century mark. Britt is the first Hartwick Women’s Lacrosse to accomplish such a feat in her career since 2006. LaVaute was named “Hawk of the Week” by the Hartwick athletic department for her accomplishment.

Freshman Goalie Stephanie Luce, from Saratoga Springs, NY, garnered Empire 8 Goalie of the Week honors following her effort in our win versus Wells. Steph saved 10 of the 15 shots on cage she faced for a save percentage of .667. She has started every game so far this season and has been crucial for our defense and transitional game. In addition to her saving ability, Steph leads the team in groundballs at this point in the season.

This season has featured a great balance of talent at all positions and although Lisa, Britt and Steph were recognized for their efforts, we have seen stellar play and performances in various games and positions. Looking forward, we have reached a pivotal juncture in our schedule as we take on Empire 8 foes Alfred and Elmira this weekend. We hope to fix the little things that have limited our success thus far this season and use the valuable game experience we have gained as we move into the second half of our games.

Thank you to all of our fans for your continued support and we hope to see you at a game soon!