Sept. 10, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 2015 lacrosse schedule represents a welcome change and the start of a new era for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores unveiled their 2015 slate, which is highlighted with eight NCAA Tournament teams from 2014. Plus, they’ll see some new competition in their first season as affiliate members of the BIG EAST Conference. Vanderbilt joins the eight-team league after 13 years with the American Lacrosse Conference, which dissolved at the end of last season.
“We’re just excited for the change,” said coach Cathy Swezey, who enters her 18th season at Vanderbilt. “We’ve been competing with one of the most difficult schedules in the country for years, in the most competitive conference. Certainly we aren’t backing down from challenges and some of these changes came without our choice. But I think it is a good thing and we’re ready for change and for the new challenges it will bring.”
Vanderbilt and former ALC foe Florida both join the BIG EAST, which also includes Georgetown, Temple, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Marquette and Villanova. Both Marquette and Villanova will face the Commodores for the first time.
Last year in the BIG EAST standings, Georgetown (11-9) and Connecticut (10-7) finished second and third, respectively, to Louisville, which left for the ACC. Georgetown reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament while fellow BIG EAST newcomer Florida, which won the ALC regular-season and tournament championships, advanced to the Elite Eight.
“I think it is a growing conference,” Swezey said. “You have Georgetown, who is obviously very well established. UConn had a really good year the past couple years. Cincinnati has a relatively new coach so she is building things. Marquette is a new program. Villanova has a strong coach at their helm. They’re building their program, too. So I think it is going to be competitive and we’re just excited for the change. I think it will be fun to be doing something different.”
A challenging schedule still awaits the Commodores, who went 5-12 and upset two ranked opponents in 2014. Vanderbilt will play eight teams, all in an eight-game stretch, that made the NCAA Tournament last year  Denver, Penn, Stanford, Penn State, Louisville, Florida, Johns Hopkins and Georgetown.
Swezey was also pleased to keep several established rivalries alive, especially road games against former ALC foes Penn State (March 15) and Johns Hopkins (March 25).
“We kept a lot of good rivalries,” Swezey said. “Hopkins is still on the schedule. We wanted to maintain the strength of schedule as best as we could and continue to keep some of those rivalries on there and games that are really exciting to play. In my mind, in this day and age, Division I is strong across the board. Everybody can be good on the right day. You have to be well prepared. We’re excited. We know it is going to be a tough year but we’re excited about it.”
Vanderbilt’s home schedule includes Kennesaw State (the season opener on Feb. 7), Boston University (Feb. 20), Denver (Feb. 22), Stanford (March 8), Florida (March 21), Temple (April 4), Connecticut (April 12) and Marquette (April 15).
The Commodores will hit the road starting with Liberty on Feb. 15 and also travel to Penn (March 1), Penn State (March 15), Louisville (March 18), Johns Hopkins (March 25), Georgetown (March 28), Cincinnati (April 8) and Villanova (the regular-season finale on April 18).
All the trips out East, especially tilts in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., cater to a sport with such a strong presence on the East Coast.
“I think it will be good for recruiting… and definitely some shorter trips for some of these parents and families to see their daughters play,” Swezey said.
While the regular season is still five months away, the Commodores will get together on Monday for the first practice of the fall ball season.
