George Orwell, in his book “1984”, said Big Brother would be watching! What he didn’t predict was how long the Women’s Division of the Vail Lacrosse Shootout would be going. Started in 1984, the 24th year of the tournament looks to be as good as ever. Each year we are amazed at the lacrosse players coming out of the cities to play lacrosse in the beautiful Vail Valley. With returning teams who have learned a few lessons and rookie teams just making the trek, this year looks to be a great time in the Rockies. Find your favorite team on the fields in Edwards or the Athletic field at the base of the mountain. Meet your team in the Vail Village and follow their progress on the field as the try to become the 2008 Champion. Teams are listed in seeded order.
Gang Green – Jamie Duke
First, thanks to Heart Trust, Inc. for making our participation possible through their generous sponsorship of Gang Green. Heart Trust is a small non-profit which provides cardiac care to indigent children in developing countries suffering from congenital heart defects.
Gang Green returns to the Shootout this year with a better-than-ever team. Consisting of Dartmouth alums and current players, the team is ready to get back to the Championship game! As a second-year participant, Gang Green has gained some experience and learned a few things. First, we've learned that Gore Creek doesn't have very much water in the middle of the summer and that a tire tube from the Amoco station down the Frontage Road won't protect your behind from the rocks. We've also learned that a Silver Bullet the night before does not actually make you faster on the field. Finally, we've learned that you need to recruit freshmen college players that are just beginning their careers to run the midfield for you so you can hold the line and catch your breath. All of these lessons have been incorporated into our well thought-out game plan for Shootout 2008. We can't wait to get back to Colorado and spend some time with our former teammates doing what we love!
Dos Brisas Lax – Jessica Adams
Dos Brisas Lax was in the Vail Shootout last year under the name Grip 'n' Rip. Due to a new sponsor, the Dos Brisas Restaurant located in Texas, the name is a little different this year. These lovely laxers continue to make it fun on the lax field. This is a fairly young team full of collegiate players. There are some new additions this year, including the one and only Regan Bosch, who brings her ‘A’ game on and off the field. Dos Brisas Lax are looking forward to another great time at the Vail Shootout this year.
Merrill Lynch ReLAXers – Morgan Lang
The Merrill Lynch reLAXers are at it again. For the fourth year in a row, we are taking a week off from work and getting together to have the time of our lives. On and off the field, we travel as a pack from white water rafting, horseback riding, to singing on stage with Wes, to "Sweet Caroline" at the Red Lion. In addition, for the second year in a row we have had the pleasure of being sponsored by Merrill Lynch. We take great pride in not only representing Merrill Lynch on the field, but in our continued support for the fight against Breast Cancer. This will be our second year to donate to Breast Cancer research. We proudly wear the color pink to display our support for this important cause. On the field, we fell short last year, but this year will be different. Coming back to get our third championship title, the Merrill Lynch reLAXers consists of players from several DI, DII and DIII schools. Including: William and Mary, Richmond, Northwestern, Hofstra, UPenn, Yale, University of Colorado, Roanoke, Swarthmore, Gettysburg and West Chester. Thank you for having us out to Vail and inviting us back to be apart of this incredible week. Best of luck to all of the men's' and women's' teams.
CRSLAX – Brooke McKenzie
Lockton Loaded morphs into Team CRSLAX.com in 2008, but really all that’s changed are some additional stellar players and updated dance moves (oh and new uniforms). Athletic excellence and moral dedication remain. We still prefer baked Cheetos to vegetables, shots to cups, and “never have I ever” to flip cup. We believe in the traditional effectiveness of the “stack play” vs. high tech offensive strategies and defensive communication vs. actually recovering on D. Before each game is a celebration, whether it’s at noon or 7am, the jams flow like the pre game motivational speeches. Postgame, if we haven’t reached the top of the mountain hypothetically, we literally go run up one. Come night fall, post scouting reports, game tape, and team dinner, we all set personal and team goals for the following day’s competitions….where liquid carbo loading continues. Why? Because we love lacrosse and the Vail Shootout is a celebration/tourney that we look forward to all year. Moral of the story: More is more. Our field is greener. And we just spent our last saved penny on a well earned prairie fire shot. Hope to see you, our fellow Shootout patrons, on the field/dance floor.
Lax Hut – Lindsey Rosenweig
Team Lax Hut is formed by a group of mostly D-I players from UMass, UNH, Syracuse, Albany, and Denver that are very excited to play in their first Vail Shootout together. They are determined to make a name for themselves both on the field and in the bars. Each girl brings a different style of playing to the field which makes our team even more unique. We hope to make a lasting impression on the Vail Shootout, and can’t wait to make this a long lasting tradition!
Team 180 – Elizabeth Hart
This team is not just a team of skilled lacrosse athletes, but a group of easy going and “tight” friends who have stuck together as a team since the days of wooden sticks…well almost. After dominating the U-15 and U-19 Vail shootout over the past years, 180 has moved up to the elite and are ready to conquer yet another division. Competitive, aggressive, intense, determined can all be used to describe this group of women, but what distinguishes them from their peers is their fun and irresistible enjoyable personalities. The lack of Oxygen never equates to a lack of enthusiasm and spirit on this team. We all can’t wait to play the sport that we love with a magnificent group of people in such an astonishing location. Look out for Team 180!! Best of luck to all the teams.
Team Wild – Natalie Shettle
After a year's hiatus, Team Wild is rip roaring and ready to go at the Vail Shootout, 2008. Team Wild historically hails from Middlebury College, but this year we have broadened our horizons and welcome some new faces from the NESCAC and beyond. We're expecting these newbies to pull out all of the tricks--most importantly some unprecedented LNDP moves. As a group of mostly young alums with few Team Wild veterans on board, we have some big shoes to fill this year and are ready to uphold the legacy of our name--both on the field and off. Team Wild has been practicing our pre-game, and is ready to show that the NESCAC is only coined the "Little Ivies" due to the enrollment size.
Revolution Lacrosse – Lukas Cash
Returning for the second straight year, REV is made up of alumnae from the high school club program in Massachusetts. Composed of various DI and DIII players and a solid core of rising collegiate freshmen, we are excited to reunite and tear up the field. Passing by the wave of black and Carolina blue, you won’t be able to ignore the incredible energy, hustle and heart this group wears on their sleeves.
Colorado Chillax – Megan Tyrie
Chillax, in all respects to their name, is a bunch of chill yet crazy college and retired lacrosse players who LIVE for the Vail tournament. Although we all hail from across the country, Ohio State, Denver, Hofstra, and others, we will always reunite for a drink and some totally gnarly laxin’ in the Rocky Mountains. We are looking forward to some stellar full-field BTBs, great ball handling skills, sick-nasty shots, crazy dancing, and an appearance by a certain little black backpack. This team has just as much fun as they do talent. We would like to thank all of our sponsors and are excited about a great showing both on and off the field! Good luck ladies!
Team Xtreme – Crystal Sagan & Beth Calder
x·treme [ik-streem] -trem·er, -trem·est, noun –adjective
1. utmost or exceedingly great in degree.
2. exceeding the bounds of moderation.
3. going to the utmost or very great lengths in action, habit, opinion, etc.
4. chiefly Sports. extremely dangerous or difficult: extreme beer pong.
Surely you will have no problem finding Team Xtreme this year in Vail. If you are walking down Bridge Street on your way to enjoy a cold beverage and see something extreme happening, it’s probably one of us. In its inaugural year, Team Xtreme comes in packin’ the heat. Former and current members of Cornell, Rutgers, Penn State, CU, Yale, Mount St. Mary’s, and Regis lacrosse teams come together for the first time under the extreme colors of black and extreme pink (aka hot pink). After playing together all spring the team decided it was kicking so much extreme ass that it was time for a new name and a new tournament. So, Vail here we come! And if you still can’t find us, we might be the ones with the extreme hangover on the field.
BAMF – Katie Nepil
Instate rivals Colorado Sate and University of Colorado team up for the very first time. Combining the two schools, BAMF plans to enjoy the Vail night life and maybe play a little lacrosse. The two teams ended there season in the WDIA in first and third place and played each other three times over the spring season. Thanks to Samana Lounge, we plan to enjoy stumbling home together and will try to play without fighting each other.
Lax World Colorado – Kathy Redmond
Team Lax World Colorado makes its debut at the Vail Shootout but expects to make the best of its home field advantage. The team consists mainly of post and present collegiate players living in Colorado who breathe easy at high altitude and won't feel the effects of a few social libations - unlike our lowland visitors. This revved up team of hard core runners looks to demonstrate the Rocky Mountain Lax Way both on and off the field. Of course, we are not all about competition, so we will be sure to demonstrate our great hospitality and sportsmanship by treating our sea level friends to some Rocky Mountain Oysters. Mmm!
QC Lax Midwest – Monica Potter
QC Lax Midwest is a team comprised of players from Missouri, Colorado, and Ohio. We are the last entry to the tournament. Our scrambling entry reflects our style of play. The unique style is developed from a mix of players from DIV I, II and III. While we are unique we have one thing in common: we love to play lacrosse. We want to thank our sponsor, QC Lax, for supporting the team and helping maintain a competitive tournament.
AOB – Lisa Mitchelides
Ass On Backwards was inspired by goal keeper Caitlin Carducci in her quest to sport a rockin' fanny pack for the rest of her life. At last year’s Vail tourney, coaching high school girls and educating them about supreme FUPA's, team members embraced the almighty FUPA with an iconic revelry. With girls from all over the country AOB plays competitive and pays homage to the icon with mad skills on the field. We will be there rockin’ it and sockin’ it in the net. The wildest girls in the tournament, you can't miss us at night, we are the ones with the fanny packs.
Tap Room – Jamie Rostan
The Tap Room has set their sights on the former Team Vision this year, winning them over with promises of burgers and booze. Hailing from the University of Mary Washington, Colorado College, Quinipiac, UNC, Gettysburg, and UPenn, Team Tap Room is complete with everyone from Vail Veterans to Vail Virgins. When they aren't practicing hard on their drinking skills, they can be found on the field…most likely laying down. Never the less, their field presence will be in full force this year, unless of course they come down with SARS which would be most unfortunate.
Minnesota Northstars – Dave Holdsworth
Team Northstars hails from the Minnesota tundra and is making its first appearance at the Vail Shootout. We’re equally excited for the lacrosse as we are to escape the vulture-size mosquitoes that infest the land of 10,000+ lakes in the summer. At our first and only practice we did realize that we were holding the sticks incorrectly and now understand that the shaft should point down and the net upwards – so look out! Our primary hope is that Vail will experience some unexpected temperature drops, snow and ice just to make us feel at home and to equalize (and slick up) the playing field. Seriously, our team consists of college and post-college players born and raised in Minnesota who play(ed) at the WDIA and DIII levels either in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Ohio. (And, our coach is much older than the rest of us and from some place called Philly.)
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
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