Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium represented the center of the women?s lacrosse universe for much of last year as the host of both the NCAA Final Four and the women?s World Cup tournament.
If Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuck has his way, the stadium will soon be host to many more big women?s lacrosse games as the Annapolis service academy will elevate the sport from club to varsity status beginning in 2008.
The move comes at an ideal time for both the sport and the Academy as interest in lacrosse is still rising annually among young females. Navy will join 80 other Division I women?s lacrosse programs in the United States. This does not include Florida, which announced plans to begin varsity play in the 2009-2010 school year.
In addition, Navy recently decided to increase the percentage of females in the Brigade of Midshipmen from 17 to 22 percent.
Gladchuck said those factors are just a few of the reasons he couldn?t think of a better sport to bring to Navy than lacrosse. When they begin play, the Midshpmen will be a full member of the Patriot League and immediately be eligible for NCAA postseason competition. With the move, Navy now has nine women?s varsity sports and 31 programs overall.
“Adding women?s lacrosse is a natural by virtue of the thousands of young women playing the sport in the area,” said Gladchuck, whose daughter Julie plays the sport at North Carolina on a partial scholarship. “There is tremendous upside for the sport at the Naval Academy as we are committing Division I resources, coaching staff and facilities to the program.”
Navy should flourish rather quickly as along with the resources, the Midshipmen have a highly successful club team that has gone 87-13 over the last six years. Also, the Baltimore area is home to many of the top female lacrosse players in the country, making it easier to scout potential recruits.
“There are clearly many young women who not only want to face top athletic competition, but be leaders and serve their countries as well,” Gladchuck said.
The Midshipmen also need to look at the success of a number of programs outside of lacrosse?s traditional East Coast center as they look to become competitive sooner rather than later. For example, former Maryland great Kelly Amonte-Hiller has done an amazing job in leading Northwestern to back-to-back national titles in just four years of varsity competition. Also, Pikesville native Michele Uhlfelder led Stanford to the NCAA tournament for the first time this year, a first for a West Coast team.
“All the pieces will be in place for us to be as successful in women?s lacrosse as we have been on the men?s side,” said Gladchuck, referring to the men advancing to the tournament the last three years, including the 2004 title game.
“We don?t have any problem recruiting quality female athletes to our other teams, and the talent pool is so extensive in the area for lacrosse, I don?t see any difficulty getting ready for varsity competition.”
Ron Snyder is a staff writer for The Examiner.
