Fastest Game On Two Feet!....

In the midst of the craziness of the NCAA softball regionals and super regionals of the Women's College World Series, lies the women's NCAA Lacrosse Championships. The sport of lacrosse is not new. It's origins are rooted in a Native American team sport played with a ball and a long handled stick. The game was adapted for women's play during the 1890's mainly because it was seen as an ideal sport for women who played field hockey during the fall.

The women's college game boasts 91 division I teams, 57 division II teams and over 200 division III teams, but it's largely a geographic game. It's predominantly played east of the Mississippi river. Only a handful of schools in the west and midwest compete. Lacrosse has been dubbed the "fastest game on two feet"...and it's gaining popularity outside traditional northern states. I Live in the southern state of Georgia. There are only three (division III) women's programs in the entire state. However the sport has drifted into the city and county recreational programs and the rapid addition of lacrosse programs into the local High School Association is another sign of the rapid growth of lacrosse in general.

The U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association, founded in the summer of 1931 governed the sport on the collegiate and club levels until 1981. In 1982, the NCAA took over and began hosting it's National Championship Tournament for women. In the 29 year history there have been 10 different champions. The University of Maryland has been dominant with 10 titles, including a run of 7 consecutive victories. In recent years, Northwestern has shown hints of a dynasty with a 5 year consecutive streak of their own.

The photo to the right is of Northwestern player, Jessica Russo.

Some great athletes have played the game, but unlike women's basketball, soccer or softball there is no professional league available in the U.S. for athletes to continue with their playing careers. Unfortunately, not much television coverage is available for the present 2011 NCAA tournament. The tournament which began May 14, concludes May 29th with the championship game. The final four competing in the May 27th quarterfinals are Maryland vs. Duke and North Carolina vs. Northwestern. The remaining games can be seen through a live stream on NCAA.com. For more information regarding the division I championship tournament check out the women's lacrosse home page of the NCAA. If you are interested in more information about women's lacrosse resources, check out the following links.

WomensLAX
Womenslacrosse
STX WomensLacrosse

These sites contain information on both men and women:
Lacrosse Forums
LAXPOWER