Madeline Sarussi (center), a freshman at Chaparral High School, stretches before Saturday's tryout for the Women's Division National Tournament team.
“We are looking for athleticism, stick skills and attitude,” said Jessica Livingston as she and 10 other high school lacrosse coaches and officials watched about three dozen girls try out Saturday morning for up to 22 spots on an Arizona team that will compete at the Women’s Division National Tournament at Stony Brook University in New York on Memorial Day weekend.
Goalie Mandy Ross, a junior at Corona del Sol High School.
“The WDNT is more than 70 years old and is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the country,” said Livingston, the coach of Chaparral High School and the founder AZ Girls Lacrosse, a girls lacrosse youth league. “A lot of college coaches will be there. It is a major recruiting event.”
The Arizona team will participate in the Schoolgirls’ Division, which covers grades 9-11. This year, approximately 60 teams from all around the country will be placed into six divisions, which are further broken into pools. Each team will play a minimum of four games.
Chaparral sophomore Scarlett Sulliman.
Livingston said that even though she and many of the other coaches already know most of the girls who were trying out for the WDNT team, a player’s reputation and past performance do not matter to the selectors. “That’s why attitude is so important,” Livingston said. “We want girls who really want to be on this team.” Saturday’s tryouts consisted of skill drills in the morning and scrimmaging in the afternoon. “The scrimmaging is when you really see the girls in action,” Livingston said.
Selections to the Arizona WDNT team will be announced toward the end of the week of April 2. For more information about girls lacrosse in Arizona, visit the websites of the Arizona Girls Lacrosse Association and AZ Girls Lacrosse.
- Sophie Bucknell, a junior at Xavier Prep, awaits a pass.
Caitlin O'Grady, a Corona del Sol sophomore, stretches.
Girls from about a dozen local high school try out for the WDNT team.
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