First year coach Bill Currie is looking forward to a strong season from his inexperienced team of 22 players. Coach Currie estimates that over 30% of his players are new to the game. Even though inexperienced, Bill sees a lot of athletic ability and quick learning on the team.

Three strong returning players lead Greenwood. Jackie Herman is an A-Wing, Ellen Moore plays Center, while Anna Bazzi is up front at 1st Home. Both Herman and Moore played on the Northwest Regional Team last year.

Overlake Owls

Coach Sue Haviland said her team is still working on becoming more unified and growing to the same level of play. Sue feels that the team’s trip to the San Diego Lacrosse tournament the second weekend of March aided her unity goals. Coach Haviland is looking forward to the possibility of returning to State Championship form. Overlake has a strong opportunity to do just that with 9 players returning from last year’s strong team.

Sarah Buchwalter, a senior Center returns as a strong force. Senior Midfielders Hilary Pentz and Micah Pepper also return from last year. Senior Captain Morgan Turnbow will be a strong anchor to the defense. Pentz, Pepper and Turnbow all played on the Northwest Regional Team last season.

Kitsap

After starting 10 years ago with just four girls, the Kitsap program has blossomed and for the first time will field both Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. Coach Val Torrens has been the catalyst for this growth and is looking forward to good 2001 season.

Kitsap returns nine players from last years’ team and will be adding 2 or 3 new faces to the roster. Four seniors and a junior lead Kitsap into the season. Alanna Ryan plays A-wing and 3rd Home, Rebekah Wilson is strong defender at 3rd Man and Coverpoint, sharing these positions will be another senior Mercedi Smalley. Jen Hall is a fourth senior playing strong at D-Wing. Junior Lydia Ramsey joins Ryan at 3rd Home and also plays Center.

Panthers

Coach Steph Cone moved from Bellevue High School to tutor the Panthers for 2001. The Panthers are a young team – fielding a varsity team for the first time this season. Coach Cone is optimistic about the season and expects to see a lot of improvement over its course. The team has a great attitude and is developing quickly.

Four sophomores anchor the team. Jessica Verrilli is a Center with great stick skills and a good shooter. Noelle Anderson is a D-Wing with excellent field vision. Lauren Watts is an extremely fast A-Wing. Sara Gasparich is a new goalie playing well who does a good job at clearing.

Holy Names Academy Cougars

Coach Kelly Cox has a veteran team returning fourteen out of eighteen players. The team is looking forward to playing in the Western States Tournament at UC-Davis the last weekend in March. Kelly expects to be one of the top teams in the state this season.

Holy Names’ attack is headed up by Dedee Banel, Kristen Thyng and Katie Schaffnit who are co-captains this year. Three seniors – Michelle Uhlenkott, Elizabeth Hinson and Whitney Wedge – anchor the defense. Wedge returning to Goal for 2001. However, according to Coach Cox, the team’s secret weapon is assistant coach Ingrid Martens.

Bellevue High School

Coach Keri Brinton moved up from JV to coach the Varsity for 2001. Bellevue’s strength is in its defense this year. This is young team that has brought up eight freshmen and shows a lot of promise. Brinton believes the team can make the playoffs if they maintain their dedication.

Senior Captain Lindsey Helgen leads the defense for Coach Brinton. Another key to the defense is two strong Goalies; senior Katie Royal and sophomore Becca Miller. Three sophomores, Nancy Bryce (3rd Man), Emily Shubin (A or D-Wing), Brittany Deal (A-Wing) have also shown strong play.

Mercer Island High School

First year head Coach Maggie O’Sullivan is excited about the rapidly developing 5 year old lacrosse program at Mercer Island. Again this year the Islanders will field three teams after 59 girls turned out. As Coach O’Sullivan pointed out, Mercer Island has a lot of players but not a lot of experience. O’Sullivan is working to develop the team’s passing and teamwork.

Three returning senior co-captains are leading the team in 2001. On the attack side Meg Elston joins last season’s leading scorer Cacky Calderon. The third senior co-captain is defender Ainsly Close. The Islanders also have two strong senior Goalies in Cara Gibson and Whitney Showalter. Coach O’Sullivan looks to build and the success of past years’ programs and improve on last season’s record and standing.

Forest Ridge School

Losing seven starters from last year’s third place team the Raiders are a young team beginning to reap the benefits of their Middle School Lacrosse program with 13 Freshman on the roster. Coach Jen Naylor expects to build to a strong finish this season in another drive to the playoffs.

Two returning senior co-captains lead the team. Lauren Riggers brings virtually unparalleled speed together with hustle to groundballs. Carina Peterson at 3rd Man anchors the defense by winning draws and with the capability to shutdown opposing players. Two other key players are sophomore Jackie Spencer at Center whose strong drive and endurance enable her to play all over the field. Junior Lizzie Prentke at 2nd Home brings super consistent skills and a good game sense that helps make the offense work well.

Bainbridge High School

Bainbridge Island lost only three seniors from last year’s State Championship team. This year Coach Tami Tomila starts twelve seniors (six of whom have started since their freshman year) who first started lacrosse with her in middle school – making it a very special year for the varsity 1 team. Coach Tomila is very excited to see how well this year’s team can do – especially since Bainbridge also has a second varsity team that reveals the incredible depth of talent on the Island.

Ali O’Connor “The Wall” looks brilliant in Goal so far this season – playing very actively and aggressively. The team looks to tri-captains Lindsey Newlon, Rebecca Williamson and Suzanne Replinger for leadership. Newlon was an Honorable Mention All-American at A-Wing last year. Williamson is expected to deliver big time for the offense at 3rd Home. Riplinger leads the defense with on-fire play and great endurance. Another great offensive talent adding to the Spartans’ fire-power is Jaron Santelli.

Lakeside School

3rd year Head Coach Lauren Schwartz returns seven varsity players and expects to have a strong team this year. The Lions bring a great passing game supported by keen on-field connections. The players’ ability to trust each other and give the ball up to create a passing allows them to preserve energy and remain strong in both halves of a game.

Last year’s leading scorer Senior Center Cassie Abel is probably the strongest most versatile player for Lakeside, according to Coach Schwartz. Sophomore Liz Morbeck brings a great sense for the game both offensively and defensively at mid-field. Mo Wiley, the fastest girl on the team, has cat-quick reflexes and agility at the goalie position.