CMU lacrosse coach Sara Tisdale leads her team in practice on Monday in the turf bay at the Indoor Athletic Complex.
Photo by: Allissa Rusco
Seasons Change
1/21/2020 9:59:00 AM | Lacrosse
Chippewa lacrosse hits the field
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A year of lasts and firsts for Central Michigan lacrosse.
The Chippewas opened practice this week, kicking off their fifth season as a varsity program under Sara Tisdale, the only coach in program history.
"Energy was great today," Tisdale said on Monday after her team's practice in the turf bay at the Indoor Athletic Complex. "As our program has gotten a little bit older, people understand what the expectation is and they come ready to work on day one."
It is the Chippewas' third and final season in the Southern Conference. They played in the Atlantic Sun in their first two seasons, beginning in 2016.
CMU will be a charter member of the Mid-American Conference when it adopts the sport in 2021.
2020 also brings a new challenge, or opportunity, for the program. For the first time, the Chippewas must replace a number of program standouts and mainstays who graduated in 2019.
That core comprised Tisdale's first signing class and included the likes of Jocelyne Lemay, Logan Halvorson, Dominique Hamman and Natalie Bloniarz.
"They left their legacy and what that means to us is they had their teammates ready to go," Tisdale said. "They were selfless enough in their senior year to know that their legacy was going to be how they had their teammates under them ready to play.
"We lost some fire power and we lost some names that have been really connected to our program since day one, but (others) are going to fill those shoes in a really unique way. We're excited to see who steps up."
The Chippewas open the season on Feb. 16 at Notre Dame. Their home opener is set for Feb. 23 against Butler. The SoCon opener is scheduled for March 27 at Furman.
The Chippewas opened practice this week, kicking off their fifth season as a varsity program under Sara Tisdale, the only coach in program history.
"Energy was great today," Tisdale said on Monday after her team's practice in the turf bay at the Indoor Athletic Complex. "As our program has gotten a little bit older, people understand what the expectation is and they come ready to work on day one."
It is the Chippewas' third and final season in the Southern Conference. They played in the Atlantic Sun in their first two seasons, beginning in 2016.
CMU will be a charter member of the Mid-American Conference when it adopts the sport in 2021.
2020 also brings a new challenge, or opportunity, for the program. For the first time, the Chippewas must replace a number of program standouts and mainstays who graduated in 2019.
That core comprised Tisdale's first signing class and included the likes of Jocelyne Lemay, Logan Halvorson, Dominique Hamman and Natalie Bloniarz.
"They left their legacy and what that means to us is they had their teammates ready to go," Tisdale said. "They were selfless enough in their senior year to know that their legacy was going to be how they had their teammates under them ready to play.
"We lost some fire power and we lost some names that have been really connected to our program since day one, but (others) are going to fill those shoes in a really unique way. We're excited to see who steps up."
The Chippewas open the season on Feb. 16 at Notre Dame. Their home opener is set for Feb. 23 against Butler. The SoCon opener is scheduled for March 27 at Furman.
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