By Maddy Belt
The SMU Women’s Lacrosse Club enters its 10th season with a new home and Liz Holmes, a former University of Pennsylvania field hockey and lacrosse player, as the head coach.
The team qualified for nationals the last three years under Coach Holmes’ leadership, and began the 2016 season, which started in February, ranked sixth out of 20 teams in the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) Division II. The SMU Women’s Lacrosse Club plays in the Texas Women’s Lacrosse League (TWLL) of the WCLA, which includes 13 other schools in Texas.
“It’s great that we have had a team for 10 years now,” said Vice President and Captain Meri Oshrain. “As the sport grows throughout the country, we have seen more club teams form in Texas.”
Ever since it was developed by Native Americans as early as the 12th century, lacrosse has always been considered a men’s sport. Its popularity was concentrated on the East and West coasts in the early 21st century, but has since become the fastest-growing sport in the Midwest and the South.
According to Oshrain, despite the growing popularity of lacrosse, the SMU Women’s Lacrosse Club still faces challenges that stem from being a women’s team playing at the club level: they feel like they have to compete with men’s teams and varsity sports for fans.
“Unfortunately, as elegant as women’s lacrosse can be, it is not very fun to watch. The NCAA Division I programs have a similar issue. The game is not as physical. We don’t wear helmets or a lot of protection,” Oshrain said.
Oshrain also said that it doesn’t help that their games are on the weekends, and could even be early in the morning.
“This is a college campus. Most people are not awake before 11, and even if they are, they’re not going to want to go watch a women’s lacrosse game,” she said.
This season also marks the opening of the University’s new Crum Lacrosse and Sports Field. Gary T. Crum ’69 and Sylvie P. Crum, long-time supporters of lacrosse and parents of a former SMU lacrosse player, helped fund the field with a generous donation. Their son, Christopher, played for the SMU Men’s Lacrosse Club.
Oshrain said that the new field will help the women’s team tackle their scheduling issues, because they had to plan their practices in Ford Stadium around the football team’s schedule in previous seasons. The men’s and women’s lacrosse teams will have priority use of the 6,495-square-foot field; however, SMU’s rugby, baseball and soccer clubs will also have access to the facilities.
“It is great that we can start our 10th season off with the brand new Crum Lacrosse Center,” Oshrain said. “We are a very fortunate team that had support from the school and community.”
Oshrain said that with some rule changes, the game will be more interesting to watch and attract a larger audience.
“I would love to see the game of lacrosse become an Olympic sport and encourage global growth,” she said.
