2007 Girls' Lacrosse Preview
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After graduating only four seniors from last year's state semifinalist team, the Bears will return to the lacrosse fields this spring with a roster of well-seasoned players. Unlike the players, however, the coaching staff will be almost entirely new. At the end of last season, Bears long-time head coach Deb Wood stepped down, naming her assistant, Laura Mark, as the first new headcoach of the Bears in twelve years. Erin Scearcy, a recent graduate and NCAA Division III lacrosse player from Claremont McKenna College, will assist Coach Mark.
Coach Mark's playing experience includes a prep career at Deerfield Academy. Laura was captain of her Big Green lacrosse team and earned MVP honors. Upon graduation Mark attended and graduated with honors from the University of Virginia where her lacrosse squad squared off with Maryland for the national championship her junior year and fell in the NCAA quarterfinals her senior season.
Laura Mark's coaching career started at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ, where as an English teacher she also served as head coach of junior varsity field hockey and lacrosse.
The strength of the 2007 Bears lacrosse team rests in its talented line-up of midfield players, led by tri-captain and honorable mention all-state center Katharine Chute, '07. Chute will get plenty of help from sister and first team all-state player Margaret Chute, '09 and second team all-state midfielder, Emily Moos, '08, as well as the team's most improved player in 2006, Hilary Hayssen, '09.
Offensively the team will look to tri-captain Julia Heffelfinger, '07 and returning attackers Michelle Tremblay, '09 and Julia Hawkins, '08 to score key goals for the Bears. Blake's net will be well-minded by second year goalie Abby Fink, '09 who will rely on a strong corps of defenders including tri-captain Maggie Rogers, '07 and second team all-state defender Jamie McLaughlin, '08 to keep opponents at bay.
There is no doubt given Blake's strong history that they will remain on everyone's target list this season. The Bears, however, must stay focused on each individual game and on their team goals in order to make their way through to the first-ever Minnesota State High School league sponsored playoff season.
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