Let's play a word association game: What comes to mind when I say the words inseparable, hysterical, fun-loving and happy? No, don't worry, you're not mistakenly reading another Life column about a budding relationship. Instead, those are the words senior defender Elizabeth Pinney uses to describe the camaraderie of her women's lacrosse teammates.
The phrase "team chemistry" gets thrown around a lot in sports. I used to think such an intangible term was an overrated concept, but that was before I saw this team play. The defending national champs have a star in Amy Appelt and have two other All-Americans in Nikki Lieb and Pinney. But the real core of Virginia's success comes from a full roster of talented athletes dedicated to each other. Every member of the team lives with teammates.
"They have tremendous fun together away from lacrosse, and that definitely spills onto the field," head coach Julie Myers said.
It's a sentiment echoed by the players.
"We have fun, and we keep it light," fourth-year Cary Chasney said. "Even when we were losing at Duke [two weeks ago], we didn't yell and blame each other."
In the loss Chasney referred to, Virginia trailed 12-4 early in the second half before rallying to within three and eventually falling 16-12. It's a testament to the team's character and friendship that no one quit. Since that upset loss, the Cavaliers have rolled to a four-game winning streak by a combined 68-14 margin.
According to Myers, that commitment to each other is evident every day.
"Whenever we're in a practice setting and talking about a lapse, they all get each other's backs," she said. "They all try to take the hit for the next person."
A perfect anecdote for this support came early last year when two top contributors -- Chasney and junior Meredith Lazarus -- both were lost for the season with torn ACLs. Instead of removing themselves from the daily work of the team, the two remained actively involved as unofficial part-time coaches and full-time cheerleaders.
"If either one of them felt sorry for themselves and brought that onto the field, I think our season would have been very different," Myers said. "They handled it with great maturity and realized they were still a part of the team. They really never even missed a practice, and they never missed a trip."
After all, if they stayed behind for a road game, most of their friends would be gone. Just as importantly, Chasney and Lazarus kept a positive spirit despite their injuries.
"I was the cheerleader," Chasney said. "I would stand next to the coaches and yell my head off. I'd be hoarse after every game. My teammates used to make fun of me for it."
While remaining wholly supportive of each other for their on-field play, the women aren't as shy about ribbing each other off it.
"I know everything there is to know about most of my teammates," Pinney said. "We like to call each other out and embarrass each other in front of everybody."
The players can always be seen hanging out together and, though their game schedule can impinge on their social lives, Sunday is "Funday" and serves up plenty of fodder for future call-outs.
"Our locker room on Monday afternoons is just hilarious," Chasney said.
Both that spirit and Virginia's recent lacrosse accomplishments are particularly embodied in the nine-member senior class that features Courtney Young, Molly Urlock, Ashleigh Haas, Ashley Dodson, Bridget Bradley, Laura Burns, Appelt, Pinney and Chasney. A year ago, that class rebounded to help Virginia win the national championships after its first two seasons ended in overtime losses in the NCAA tournament, including a defeat at the hands of Princeton in the final as sophomores.
Myers maintains so much faith in this group that she purposefully recruited a tiny four-athlete freshman class for this season.
"We knew that they were such solid kids on and off the field that we were able to have a smaller team and really rely heavily on that fourth-year class," she said.
After receiving a medical redshirt, Chasney is eligible to return for a final season of lacrosse next year but is choosing to attend law school. A factor in her decision was that she'd miss her class of teammates too much.
"I can't imagine coming to school without the girls I've been through the last four years with," she said.
When asked about leaving the team, Pinney was in similar denial, saying, "I don't want to even think about it."
That senior class has Virginia off to an 11-2 mark and a No. 4 ranking. When you come see the women take on No. 8 Georgetown tonight at Klöckner, you'll see 26 best friends working hard for each other. After all, there's no "I" in women's lacrosse.
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