Too many times here at the University at Buffalo I hear students say if this school put out good sporting teams with winning records, they would go watch. They complain that none of the teams are worth watching due to the fact that a majority of the big-time sports at UB having losing records.
Well, there is another highly recognized sport - nationally, that is - here that you may remember back from high school. Yet no one from Buffalo seems to notice.
Lacrosse is a major sport in most high schools, but for some reason the University at Buffalo does not have a varsity team. Nevertheless, UB does have the women's lacrosse club, a team of girls here that is just as legit as any varsity squad we have.
This weekend the Bulls will be testing their mettle in Rochester, N.Y. at the St. John Fisher Round Robin Tournament. The team will be squaring off against the University of Toronto, St. John Fisher University as well as Fredonia University, who the Bulls beat handily last year.
"The reason we are playing is that they invited us to play along with Syracuse, Duke, and North Carolina, who are obviously big teams," said Allison Cox, a player and secretary of women's lacrosse.
In February, the women proved their validity as contenders when they competed in the Mardi Gras Women's Lacrosse Tournament, held in New Orleans, La. The Bulls placed third overall out of a field of nine teams that included Northeastern and Central Florida, who UB beat 7-4 and 9-4, respectively.
Later in the Mardi Gras tournament, the eventual champions, the University of Virginia, downed Buffalo. Yet the way they lost, courtesy of a closely contested battle that ended with a 7-5 score, earned them an enormous amount of respect.
"Everyone was talking about us when we left there. They were like, 'Whoa,'" said Cox.
National respect comes as no surprise; the team is hard working and dedicated. They work fundraisers and practice all year round. In fact, the squad won Student Association Club of the Year last season and this year were the champions of Spirit Week, dethroning the obviously high spirited Pep Band.
The Bulls practice all year round and invite anyone that wants to play with them, to come practice and learn. Playing time is based on attendance at the practices.
Up until recently, Buffalo was running its own practices and scrimmages. They met current coach James Powell through the Sweet Home High School lacrosse program, when they were running one of their many fundraisers.
Buffalo's full season kicks off April 6 at the Grove City Tournament, followed by the Pittsburgh Tournament on April 13.
The UB women will host their own tournament at the South Campus Rotary Field on April 20. They will face the likes of Slippery Rock, Michigan State and Ohio University.
"We have very low turnouts, its basically just friends and family that show up," said Cox.
Low turnout is reason enough to come and support these lacrosse players; to give them added motivation. And if you want to come and see a good team play against some big time universities, then you should go to that tournament and support a team that will make you proud to be a Bull.
Hopefully one day, with some support, the University at Buffalo's Women's Lacrosse Club can call themselves varsity.
