Spring Break

It's hard to believe Spring Term is already here! Today marks the beginning of the third term for this academic year and the beginning of ODAC Championship week! We are pumped and ready to bring the title home after a Spring Break full of lax, lax and more lax. We were able to squeeze in a few team meals and one very colorful Generals Cup competition in between. The Juniors of Utah were kind enough to host us for a Franks' team dinner on Tuesday night.
Wednesday was game day and we prepared for our last regular season conference game against Guilford with a hearty lunch from Woods Creek Grocery.

After an awesome team win over Guilford, the team had to get ready for perhaps the biggest competition of the week, the inaugural Generals Cup. The Cup was comprised of tough lacrosse-related events, a heated round of trivia and culminated in a very tight race for first place in the scavenger hunt through Lexington. Entering this year's Cup were three very evenly matched and spirited teams:

Ninjas

Summer Heights High
Dancing Queens

The Ninjas jumped out to an early lead in the ground ball and possession events. Summer Heights was close on their heels until the Dancing Queens put themselves on the board by winning the 6v6 competition. The Ninjas were barely holding on to first place going into the trivia round. The Dancing Queens easily handled trivia for a win by showing off their knowledge of coaching and training staff birthdays, middle names and birth places, and W&L history. We headed into the scavenger hunt with a nail-biting difference in points between the competitors. Each team ventured into Lexington donning their stellar team uniforms to hunt down various information and objects from around town.

At the end of the day the Ninjas pulled through and were able to pull off a stunning victory.

Things we learned: Josh is from Illinois, not Indiana. Baner's middle name is Alexander, not Arthur. JGot and Emily can still play lacrosse even dressed as Jonah and wearing a cape, respectively. And Coach O'Brien's favorite restaraunt is not Frank's.

We hope to see many of you Wednesday when we beat Randolph Macon and advanced to the conference final!

Megan Slosson '08 Updates us on Life in Baltimore

We're continuing to catch up with our alumnae this week. Megan Slosson '08 is enjoying her job, puppy, and is looking forward to moving downtown.



1. How long have you been in the Baltimore area?
I MOVED TO BALTIMORE AT THE END OF JULY 2009 AFTER LIVING IN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA FOR A YEAR AFTER GRADUATION.
2. Where are you working and how long have you been there?
I AM WORKING FOR M&T BANK AND HAVE BEEN WITH THE COMPANY SINCE GRADUATION.
3. Where are you living?
AFTER MOVING BACK TO BALTIMORE I MOVED IN WITH MY LOVELY PARENTS TO SAVE SOME MONEY WHILE TAKING CLASSES IN THE EVENINGS TO PREPARE FOR THE CPA EXAM. I WILL BE MOVING DOWNTOWN TO LIVE WITH MY BROTHER AT THE BEGINNING OF JUNE.
4. Are you enjoying your career?
YES. I AM LEARNING A LOT AND WHILE THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGING DAYS, IT IS A REWARDING EXPERIENCE.
5. Whats your favorite thing to do in Baltimore?
NOW THAT THE WINTER IS FINALLY OVER, I LOVE TO BE OUTSIDE RUNNING, PLAYING TENNIS, OR PLAYING WITH MY PUPPY (CHOCOLATE LAB NAMED REMI). 6. What kinds of hobbies and activities have you taken up since graduating?
SINCE GRADUATION, THE MAJORITY OF MY TIME OUTSIDE OF WORK AND CLASS IS SPENT WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND THE PUPPY. I HAVE ALSO JUST SIGNED UP FOR MY SECOND MARATHON WHICH I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT, BUT THAT WILL BE RATHER TIME CONSUMING BEGINNING IN JULY.

7. Do you keep in touch and get to see fellow Generals lax Alums?
I HAVE NEVER BEEN GOOD AT KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT LIVING NEAR ME, BUT I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT I HAVE KEPT IN TOUCH WITH FELLOW LAXERS PRETTY WELL. NOTHING IS BETER THAN COMING HOME FROM WORK AND FINDING AN EMAIL FROM SOMEONE FROM MY CLASS CONTINUING A GENERALS LAX TRADITION 2 YEARS AFTER GRADUATION.

8. What do you miss most about W&L/Lexington?
OBVIOUSLY I MISS THE TEAM AND THE COMPETITION, BUT THE THING ABOUT LEXINGTON AND W&L THAT I MISS THE MOST IS HAVING ALL OF MY CLOSE FRIENDS LIVING WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE. I LOVED THAT IF I GOT BORED IN MY OWN APARTMENT OR NEEDED SOME ENTERTAINMENT THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMEONE JUST A FEW STEPS AWAY (ESPECIALLY AT UTAH).

9.Anything else you'd like Generals players, friends and fans to know?
I WILL BE AT ODAC FINALS SO YOU BETTER WOMP!

Allison Gockley '08's First Year in Med School

Time to catch up with alumnae! This week we heard from 2008 graduate Allison Gockley on her experiences as a First-Year Med Student:

1.Where are you in Med. School?

Allison: Im in Hershey Pa, at Penn State Medical School.

2. How did your first semester go and are you feeling more adjusted in second semester?
Allison: I love med school! The people at Penn State are really amazing – they are all passionate and hard-working, but know how to relax and let loose when we have the chance. The hardest part was anatomy when we learned the whole human body structure in 11 weeks – it was like the boot camp part of medical school.

3. Have you thought about what concentration of medicine you'd like to focus on?
Allison: I’m trying to keep my options open, but if I had to choose today, I would be an orthopedic surgeon. I am fascinated by the field and I could potentially get to work with athletes! Pretty early in med school people decide whether they are a “thinker” or a “doer”. Thinkers become great diagnosticians and doers become surgeons. Most athletes are doers, so I think surgery fits my personality really well!

4. Did you always know that you wanted to be a doctor?
Allison: Probably not always – I was convinced I was going to be an astronaut for a while as a kid. But since middle school, I’ve been really intrigued by medicine and the positive impact that it can have on others.

5. What do you do in your free time (if you have any!)?
Allison: Actually, I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of free time I have. My friends and I recently took up rock climbing – which is a really great challenge. I also just ran my first half-marathon. I’m also really looking forward to this summer since I am traveling to India to work at a rural health hospital. Last week I also got to throw around with a friend who also played lacrosse – I miss it so much!

6. Have you kept up with women's lax alumnae?

Allison: Yes! I came to the F&M game this year and got to see some alumnae there and since many alumnae are in DC, it is easy to visit for a weekend!

7. What's the biggest thing you miss about W&L and/or Lexington?

Allison: I can’t pick just one! I miss the mountains and sandwiches from Blue Sky, Indian runs, sunshine drill, dynamic warmup and living at Utah! Most of all I miss the people, I’m learning that the mentors and friends at W&L are really unique and hard to replicate elsewhere!

8. Anything else you'd like Generals fans, players, parents and alumnae to know?

Allison: Good Luck Gennies – WOMP!

Friends of Jaclyn Day

The Generals are 6-0 in the ODAC after a well deserved win on Saturday against Lynchburg! We had a lot of great support from family and friends and the win was truly a team effort. We were also very lucky to have the support of our biggest fan and Friends of Jaclyn adoptee, Maggie, on the sidelines with us. Maggie and her family did a great job of cheering us on, especially on such a hot day.

First-Year MJ Van Sant, Sophomores Jenn Linder and Emily Ackerman and Maggie made up an awesome cheering squad.

We raffled off W&L Lacrosse gear in the stands and held the drawing during half-time. All proceeds from the raffle went to the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Thanks to fan-participation and generous donations we were able to raise over $650 for FOJ. FOJ is a non-profit organization started in 2005 and is dedicated to helping children with pediatric brain tumors and their families. The organization matches children with college and high school athletic teams across the country in which the child then becomes an integral part of the team. The 2010 season is Maggie's second season with the Generals. We communicate with her via facebook, send her holiday packages put together by the team and spend time with her when she and her family are able to visit campus for games and team events.

Maggie and the team stretching during the post-game talk.

We enjoyed this weekend's great weather after the game at our tailgate. Thank you so much to all the parents who helped organize and provide food and drinks. Especially to the Bucklees for the cake, it was still delcious despite the frosting confusion, and to the Barneses for the Easter candy!

To learn more about Friends of Jaclyn, visit their website: http://www.friendsofjaclyn.org/