Tech Topics - Winter 2008 - (Page 47)

YELLOW JACKETS Love of Lacrosse Club athletes balance school and sport By Van Jensen G rowing up in New York, Gabby Sirow was in the middle of lacrosse country. Naturally, she took up the predominantly Northeastern sport in which players try to toss a small rubber ball into a goal using sticks with a mesh “crease.” “I started playing when I was 10 years old,” said Sirow, now a third-year industrial engineering and economics major at Tech. “It’s something I’ve been pretty serious about, playing four years of varsity in high school, so I wanted to continue playing.” When Sirow was choosing a university, she considered some of the schools that field NCAA-sanctioned women’s lacrosse teams, but none of them had the level of academics she wanted. When she saw Tech had a club lacrosse team, she was sold. “The level of play is pretty strong,” said Sirow, now the club’s president. “It’s getting better too. We belong to a league of other club teams in the Southeast. Other teams are starting to go varsity, like Florida, Louisville and South Carolina. A lot of the teams we play are pretty good teams.” The main lacrosse season is in the spring, with a conference schedule of about 10 games and at least one tournament. There are also fall games and yearround practices, with as many as five a week. It’s a major commitment for club members who don’t receive the perks given to varsity athletes, namely scholarships. For the lacrosse team, the dedication comes from a love of the sport and a desire to spend time with teammates, Sirow said. “Being at practice and traveling ERIC TURNER Gabby Sirow, right, leads a recent practice of the Georgia Tech women’s lacrosse club. The team is preparing for the spring season. “Other teams are starting to go varsity, like Florida, Louisville and South Carolina. A lot of the teams we play are pretty good teams.” together is really a bonding experience. It’s different from just hanging out,” she said. And the team, which has about 30 members, gets to travel a handful of times a year to play nearby schools. “It’s nice to get away every once in a while,” Sirow said, adding that home games are played on the Roe Stamps Fields, next to the Campus Recreation Center. Sirow said some of her favorite college memories are from playing lacrosse and scoring goals as an attacker. Two years ago the team played Virginia in a tournament, and sleet started falling during the game. Despite being overmatched by the top 20 team, Sirow and her teammates kept it close before eventually losing. Last year the club had a home game against Clemson and fell behind early. “We came back and won by a goal in the last two minutes, which is pretty exciting,” Sirow said. TechTopics | Winter 2008 47

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Topics - Winter 2008

Tech Topics - Winter 2008 Contents Letters Buzz Around Town Alumni House Rockin’ Good Time State of the Institute The Hill Presidential Search Going Airborne Student Life An Architect’s Eyes Weight Coach Robot Burdell & Friends Ramblin’ Roll Rural Readers Leading Ladies Yellow Jackets Beyond His Years Leading Change Real World

Tech Topics - Winter 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.