By Stephen Collins '74

Lauren Gremelspacher '03, surrounded by opponents in the Trinity game, is part of a strong corps of lacrosse players returning next season.

Colby junior Angela Pappas (Gwynedd Valley, Pa.) scored seven goals and senior Nicki Furek (W. Hartford, Conn.) added three more to help the fourth-seeded women's lacrosse team topple top-seeded Bowdoin 18-13 in an ECAC tournament semifinal game on May 13. With the victory, Colby advanced to the conference championship game. Sophomore Mary Zito (Manhasset, N.Y.), with 19 saves, was "superb in goal," according to a Bowdoin press release.

The following day Furek scored the first three goals in the championship game against the Connecticut College Camels and helped spot Colby to 4-0 and 5-1 leads. The teams went into the final minute of the game tied at 12, but with 51 seconds remaining Connecticut College's Meghan Welch scored her fifth goal, giving the Camels a 13-12 edge. The Mules did not give up; a Colby shot hit the post with three seconds left on the game clock, but it bounced away and left Conn College with the victory and the championship. Zito had another "great game" in goal with 15 stops, and Colby closed the season with an 11-6 record.

Coach Heidi Godomsky praised the team's performance in a tournament held during finals week. "They were able to balance the pressure of getting there with schoolwork done well," she said. When spring semester grades were released, 13 of the 23 athletes made the dean's list and the team's grade-point average, both for the semester and cumulative, was 3.1, Godomsky said.

The Mules opened the ECAC tournament with a 22-7 quarterfinal victory over Wheaton College on May 10. In that game Pappas and sophomore Marcia Ingraham (Georgetown, Mass.), both Second Team All-New England selections, scored four goals each, as did sophomore Becca Bruce (Exeter, N.H.) and first-year Ally King (W. Hartford, Conn.).

Furek, named a Second Team Division III All-American, broke three Colby scoring records: most career assists (60), most assists in a season (39) and most points in a season (46 goals, 39 assists). She and co-captain defender Robin Ackley (Gahanna, Ohio) were the only graduating seniors, so Godomsky sees a promising outlook for next year: "The talent is there and these kids have had a taste of how it is to be successful."

Press releases provided by Jac Coyne '94, Bowdoin's sports information director, contributed to this article.