Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates

It has been a season to remember for the LSU women’s lacrosse team. The Lady Tigers won the 2015 Texas Women’s Lacrosse League Division II Conference Championship on April 18 when they beat SMU, claiming LSU’s first ever lacrosse championship of any kind.

The Lady Tigers received a bid to the WCLA Division II Nationals, but had to decline because it’s taking place at the same time as final exams next week. The team didn’t have enough time or resources to reschedule their exams.

Although the team won’t participate in nationals, it still accomplished the greatest feat of any college lacrosse team in Louisiana’s history. Team president Suzanne Nibley said the win was momentous for the program.

“It’s really significant,” Nibley said. “We’ve made leaps and bounds as a program. To win the championship three years after being established as a team is unheard of.”

The history of the women’s lacrosse team is short, but it has been competitive from the start. The Lady Tigers qualified for the conference playoffs their first year competing in the WCLA and defeated Baylor in their first postseason appearance.

The Lady Tigers made the playoffs again during their second season in league play but had to decline the invitation due to financial reasons. Everything came together for the program in 2015, and this time it was able to take advantage of the opportunity.

“The team dynamic was much better this year,” said junior attacker and team vice president Erin Esh. “We all knew we had each other’s backs. The team really wanted it and learned how to play as a team to win.”

LSU defeated TCU in the semifinal in a tightly contested game. The Lady Tigers saw their nine-goal halftime lead shrink to one before finally pulling away, earning a trip to the final, where they defeated SMU, 16-11.

SMU is a women’s lacrosse powerhouse, which has earned a bid to nationals the last four years.

“We were not expecting to win at all,” Nibley said. “We were just grateful to play them, and we ended up winning. It was a big win for us.”

Junior center-midfielder Alaena Gadwill won Tournament MVP honors after scoring seven goals total in the tournament. She is the first men’s or women’s LSU lacrosse player to win an individual award in postseason play.

After just a few years of being in existence, the program is already becoming a national power. Nibley said she hopes the championship will make the LSU community more aware of the sport’s ascension in Louisiana and help LSU inch toward becoming a Division I team.

“We hope this shows LSU that a D-1 program can really help their athletics in terms of revenue and how popular the sport is getting,” Nibley said. “In the next couple of years, we want to get our numbers up and have the school recognize us. We will get there.”