The women of the Vanderbilt lacrosse team went head to head against some of the
finest teams in the NCAA this weekend as they took part in the annual "South of
the Border" preseason tournament co-hosted by Duke University and UNC Chapel
Hill.

The Commodores played five scrimmages against some of the best teams in the nation. The first of the five games revealed a powerful offensive presence that UNC would not be able to overcome.

Vanderbilt's offense was quick to strike as the women dominated the match, scoring three of four goals in the first four minutes of action. The Tar Heals of UNC would rally together to score two goals against the Commodores, but the crimmage ended with a final score of four to two, Vanderbilt taking the "W" with them into the regular season.

Similar efforts occurred in the succeeding games against Georgetown, Duke, Richmond, and UConn. The Commodores would learn plenty about defensive support in these matches.

As the overwhelming standout of this tournament, the Commodore defense, time-after-time, succeeded in warding off intensive strikes from powerhouse offenses like that of the Georgetown Hoyas. Sophomore goalkeeper, Ashley Bastinelli, stood out among the crowd as she registered 12 saves for the three games she played.

"The girls all played well", defensive coach Susan Pley recalls. " I am pleased to see everything that we work on, in practice, finally coming together."

Vanderbilt's confident offense combined with strong support from the defense should continue to propel the team forward onto greater levels of success.

Head Coach, Cathy Swezey had positive things to say about her player's performance this weekend." The South of the Border Tournament provided an opportunity to see what our strengths are and what our weaknesses are. This year, I feel that our strengths definitely outweigh our weaknesses".

The Commodores will display their strengths in the regular season opener at Penn State on March 1. Vanderbilt's first home game will be March 9 at 1:00pm in the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex.