Season 1, Episode 26- Elizabeth Mahmud and Alexa Marczak

In this week's episode of Immaculata Athletics' "Tuesday Talk" podcast, we discuss the last few games for each of the spring teams and preview the upcoming week.

Listen to our special guests, junior women's lacrosse midfielder Elizabeth Mahmud, and junior field hockey forward/midfielder and women's lacrosse attack Alexa Marczak!

"Memories" interlude music written by Soundroll
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/memories
License code: 1DFK7PQ3EPFYKYOJ

Release date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Follow Immaculata Athletics on Social Media:

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Transcript

Men's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Welcome to episode 26 of the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Joined by Director of Athletic Communications, Larry Dielman, and student assistant Connor Kikowski is the Sports Information Director Andy Alvarez, bringing you the results and news for this past week's action and previewing the week ahead in Immaculate Athletics. Baseball, softball, and tennis teams opened Atlantic East Conference play this past week. The men's and women's lacrosse teams each had a pair of games. Men's volleyball continued their season with three matches. Women's Flag Football hosted their second home AEC trimatch of the season. The men's and women's track and field teams opened their outdoor season at the Westchester Purple and Gold Open. So let's get started looking back at results of last week. We'll start off with men's lacrosse. The men's lacrosse team went 2-0 this week with wins over Manhattanville and Kings. They're up at Manhattanville on Wednesday. They defeated the Valiants 10-6. Nick Senator scored four goals. Jude Azerano had three assists. Senator and Friday Hughes each had six ground balls. Friday Hughes was 11 for 17 on the face-offs that night, and Matthew Ludlow made eight saves and goal. On Saturday, they hosted Kings College here at Draper Wall Stadium and came out with a 10-5 victory. Aaron Hedley led the Money Max with five goals and one assist. Jason Smaron had three goals and three assists. And June Azarano had one goal and three assists. Matthew Lundlow made 20 saves and had six ground balls. As a result of their play this week, Aaron Hedley was named the Atlantic's Conference Player of the Week. And Matthew Lundlow was named the Atlantic's Conference Defensive Player of the Week for a second consecutive week. So the Money Macks swept the uh weekly awards in Medzla Cross. And they'll be back here on Wednesday when they host Albright, and then they open up uh Atlantic East Conference play on Friday night here at uh Draper Wall Stadium, when they host Merrimount. We want to get a big crowd out for that game because obviously uh it's a rematch of last year's championship game. That's going to be uh some exciting stuff going on at Draper Wall Stadium. So uh what's your guys' thoughts on Med's Lacrosse?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Yeah, some really good results overall, a lot of good numbers. The Kings game was a little bit of a back and forth in the beginning. We had that one sequence when one team could save, and then we had a turnover, then we had another class turnover, went back and forth. It was crazy to keep up with. But yeah, some really good numbers. Colin Woke also had four clos turnovers. Daniel Alvarez, three cost turnovers. So it was good to see that the Money Max came out with a good amount of energy this week, and hopefully they can bring that energy on Wednesday for their final non-conference game. And then yeah, big crowd here, hopefully on Friday night for Merrimount, a rematch of last year's AEC championship.

Flag Football

SPEAKER_01 2:42

It's been a great season so far for Mans Lacrosse getting two more wins this week. Manhattanville and Kings, you know, both of them were were close games, and like you said, Connor, with Kings, you know, some crazy sequences. I was uh at times I wasn't struggling to keep up, but it definitely was a lot. The back and forth turnovers by both sides, and I got all that, so that was good. But you know, great week from Aaron Headley and Matt Ludlow with another great performance in the cage, you know, sweeping the awards shows that we're getting a lot of respect in the conference, and yeah, that Merrymount game should be a good one on Friday. So hopefully we get that win start one-on-one conference, but we'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Switching gears now to um Fly Football, who is 5-0 this season and 4-0 in AEC conference play. They had two big wins this past weekend on Friday night when they versed Chestnut Hill and Newman. In Chestnut Hill, 32 to nothing was the final. Devin Crosker went eight for nine for 65 yards and two touchdown passes. Only in completion was an interception, so it forced the Chestnut Hill square back to throw five interceptions, which was huge for a team. Kai Harris ran three times for 61 yards and a touchdown. Eliana Sakowski with a stat line of 432 and 2 in the air and picked off two passes. So and for her, she was named to the AEC Weekly Honor, along with Jacqueline Malanini, who we'll talk about in just a moment. Teresa Jappa also had four solo tackles in the game against Chestnut Hill. Against Newman, it was 27-6 was the final. Devin Coster went four for eight with passing, 69 yards and a touchdown. She had 43 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jacqueline Malanini went with 3 for 3, 38 yards and a touchdown. Malanini caught 67 yard touchdown pass. Frankie Bronckle broke up four passes defensively, and they outscored Chestnut Hill and Newman 59-6 this weekend. And then ADC opponents, they have outscored their opponents 109-12, a big, big difference in numbers this season. And they will now have a game against Eastern tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24th, F3. And then they will head to Merrymount for a tri match with them on Sunday this week with Merrymount and Holy Family. Some really good numbers overall for Flag Football, and they're having a dominant start to their season.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah, it's been a great performance overall for Flag Football. You know, undefeated so far in conference play and overall in the season. The Chestnut Hill game was definitely crazy. I was at baseball doing that game, and I kept up with Chestnut Hill, and the score just kept going. Like I was looking at the live stats, and the score just kept going up, up, up, and I was like, what on earth are they doing over there? And I saw that they had gotten five interceptions, and you know, their defense has been definitely amazing with uh Derek Luby under center for the defensive coordinator spot. And, you know, against Newman, Jaclyn Mullinny, you know, just been really good. And, you know, she's been getting some passes and you know, receptions, and seems like they're adding new wrinkles into the offense. They're not just it's not stagnant or anything. They're definitely trying all these new things, which is good for head coach Bill Cottington. And having a 97-point margin against your conference opponents is disgusting. Like that is that is amazing. And two shutouts. So we'll see how they do against Eastern. They should be one of the top teams we see this season. And now tomorrow, just being the single match, obviously, all your focuses go into that. We'll see how they do and see how they do for the remainder of the season.

Women's Lacrosse

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Yeah, it was a real good night on Friday night out there at the stadium. They kind of took control right away against uh Chestnut Hill and you had the game really put away by halftime and then just saw their way through the rest of that game. Then the Newman game was was a tight end battle early on, but then you know they were able to pull away in the second half and uh put that game away. And you know, this week's gonna be a big week for them. Obviously, getting Eastern for the first time tomorrow, Tuesday, and then uh having go up against Marymount for a second time next weekend down at their place is gonna be uh Marymount's played well since that time. So it'll be interesting to see how that goes. It's gonna go a long way to determining where they're gonna fall. They should definitely, you know, be a they're definitely gonna be a playoff team, but you want to see where you're if you get in the top two, you're obviously you're getting a bye in the first round, not having to play the play-in game. And then obviously the top seed hosts the championship tournament. So there's a lot to play for, and hopefully, they can continue the strong play. They did work some uh some pass plays with Mulanini on the passes, which was pretty good. They worked out pretty well. So they got you know a real talented team and they they look to continue pushing forward and try to keep building up the wins and uh you know locking in a playoff spot soon. Looking forward to see how it goes.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

All right, women's lacrosse's turn. Women's lacrosse went one and one this week. They fell to Swarthmore, but they bounced back with their first win of the season over Brynmar. That was on Saturday for senior day against Swarthmore, a tough 18-2 final on the road. Julia Pohl had her first collegiate goal, and Aaliyato also scored. So Julia Pohl and Kira Benoit from women's basketball joined the team this week after they got done their basketball season and obviously taking a week off to kind of rest and get into the groove with lacrosse. So given some time to adjust to the team. So Julia Pohl got her first goal, and then against Brynmar, they bounced back with a 14-7 win over the Owls. Elizabeth Mahmood with the double hat trick of six goals, and she also had nine draw controls. Julia Pole, three goals, three dimes. Kira Benoit, two goals, nine draw controls. And it was senior day, they honored Riley Mullen, Carly Oberg, and Abby Guarneri. It was actually pretty hilarious that for each of the um senior day readings, they all thanked Bailey Knights, and Bailey just looks so confused, and it was kind of like I guess like an inside joke for the team. So that was that was cool to see. And uh Women's Lecks, they're going to Delaware Valley on Wednesday, and then they'll open AEC play on Saturday, the 28th, when they host Merrywood. For their contributions, Julia Pohl and Elizabeth Mahmood were named to the AEC Weekly Honor Roll. So, guys, it's good to see Women's Lacrosse finally break their winless streak and see if they can get back to the win column this week and especially put up a good fight against Marywood.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, it was really good to see them get their first win of the season. Hopefully, it helps them with their confidence as they get now in the conference by Merrywood and Marymount to start off, and that's going to be two tough games that they're going to have to really lock in for. But having Kira Benwell and Julian Paul has really helped with a lot of reinforcements, and they're both making immediate impacts as they got here from basketball season.

Men's Volleyball

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yeah, Saturday was a you know a real good day for them. Wednesday night down to Swatmore was obviously difficult. Swathmore is a very good, well-coached team, and they were very relentless. And uh the you know, the team worked very having me down there that night take some photos, and the team worked really hard, and you could see coming into Saturday that they were gonna have a lot more confidence the way they played, and they were able really able to come out and execute on the field and make things happen. It was good to see them get that way. It was also good to see, you know, your seniors like Riley and Carly and Abby Grenary that have been here for four years, have gone through the battles, and it's good to see them get that victory. You know, Carly got to score a goal on her senior day, which was uh nice for her. And you know, it's good things that you know you'll hear later in the show when we have Elizabeth Mahmood and Alexa Marzak, we were our guests this week on the podcast. It'll bring a lot of good insight about the team and where the team is right now and where they may be heading. We talked to them later on in the show, but it was a good day. You know, obviously Elizabeth Mahmoud continues to show why she was at the level she was at before she was here with her abilities, and then adding in two new good attacking players has really helped this team, and I think you know, hopefully they're gonna see some good things coming going forward. Moving along to uh men's volleyball. Men's volleyball went into this week with a win over Newman, and then a non-conference loss to Eastern, and then a conference loss to Lancaster Bible, who is the number one seed right now in the uh United East Conference. On Tuesday, they uh they defeated Newman in a United East Conference match 3-2 with a reverse sweep. So they went down the first two sets and then Storm back to win three straight. First time in program history that Immaculata has won a match in a reverse sweep. So that was great for them to be able to battle back like that. Luke Dortenzo set a program record with 52 assists. Josh McGurl broke his own single match record with 24 kills, and Alex Corsone's one point came in and served nine straight points for the money backs. So that was a uh a great win for the money backs, and uh it was good to see them be able to pull off the reverse sweep and beat your rival. That's always a lot of fun. Thursday night, uh, unfortunately, you know, they ran into a very strong Eastern squad in the non-conference match. They lost uh 3-0. Noah Zunski had six kills, Luke Tortenzo, 11 assists, Michael Prawl had nine digs, and then Saturday they you know they ran into a really good Lancaster Bible team, and you know, Lancaster Bible was able to beat them 3-0. But you know, they they do have some matches this week. They uh see they have Valley Forge and Cairn this week, two of their final three United East Conference matches, and they have a uh an opportunity to you know lock in a uh United East Conference playoff spot with like one more win, we'll lock that in for them, and then they'll be able to try to compete for one of the top two spots to try to get a bye in the first round and host a possibly host a uh conference playoff match for the first time. So some good things uh for men's volleyball.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah, the Newman game was a really fun game to watch. I think seeing that reverse sweep was pretty incredible. And then especially in that fifth set when they were down, I think two points again. Newman was about to close out, they came back strong again. Elliott called a timeout right then and gone back in, and that's when they scored it and won what was it, 15 or 13, something like that. But it was a really fun game to watch overall.

Baseball

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah, that was a good match on Tuesday with Newman and you know, to storm back like that, they were really getting the momentum on their side. The crowd got into it, and you know, it was just it was good to see getting that conference win. And I believe at this point, now that they have four conference wins, they are guaranteed at least a 500 record in conference play, which is great because you know they have not been in a conference the last couple years, and they're already showing that you know they belong here in the United East. You know, that Lancaster Bible one was definitely a tough one, but they're the number one seed for a reason. And hopefully tomorrow against Valley Forge, you know, they can keep that momentum going. They beat them once this season. Now, what's weird about that Valley Forge match, they played them earlier in the year. It was non-conference because they played them twice. This one will be conference. So if you want to think about it, technically they've already beaten Valley Forge, just not in a conference setting. And Alex Corcones will be racking up another senior board with volleyball as he will be in tennis. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum going in this last week and a half of the volleyball regular season. All right, let's switch over to baseball. Baseball went one and two this week with their Merrymount weekend series. They lost on Friday, they won the seven inning game on Saturday and then fell in the second half of the double header. So 6-4 on Friday was the defeat, 10-3 on Saturday was the win, and then in the second part, it was a 7-2 defeat as well. Friday, Alex LePage went uh six innings. I believe he had 100 pitches, seven hits allowed, one earned run, and eight strikeouts. He was on a heater. Matt Passerini, Luke Hardnock, Logan Barr, and Ryan Nase all had RBIs. On Saturday, Thomas DeSarno with a jam on the mound, 6.1 innings, five strikeouts, only allowed six hits and two earned runs for the win. Danny Nasito, four for four with two Ribbies. Bobby Woodward, two for four with two RBIs, and JT Luther had two RBIs on one for three. And then Saturday, the second half of the doubleheader, Bobby Woodward and Danny Nasito both drove in runs. Like I said earlier, I was at the game on Friday, and it was truly, you know, a great performance by Alex LePage. Merrymount had no answers for him pretty much. He gave up one home run, but that was about it. And it was unfortunate what happened at the end. It was two outs in the top of the ninth, and unfortunately, Marymount hit a three-run, go-ahead home run on a pinch hitter, and that was pretty much the end of that. So tough one for the team, but good to get that bounce back on Saturday. Instead of getting swept, they got the one win. So we'll see how they do this week. Tomorrow they're going to play Arcadia here at the Immaculate Baseball Stadium. Hopefully the rain holds out. Hopefully, we don't get postponed again. And then the Friday, Saturday, their weekend series this weekend will be against Gwynedd Mercy. We are hosting the doubleheader this time. So make sure you pack the baseball stadium for that one. But guys, tough one on Friday, but good bounce back on Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Yeah, um, obviously that Friday game was hard to take in. I mean, especially when you are one hour away from it. But again, you remember these are the defending champs coming in. You know what was your task was. But good to see them bounce back in the double header on Saturday in game one, and obviously game two didn't go our way, but a lot of good things to look at. Alex the Page strong in the mound, so was Sassarno. So hopefully that keeps them in momentum, maybe in potential for that one season hosted tournament later this season.

Softball

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Yeah, it was a Friday, it was an unfortunate whether you that you you lose the lead late, but uh obviously you're right there in the ballgame, and then you get the first game of the doubleheader, second one kind of working more of a bullpen type game in that game, and it just you know just didn't work out for them. But still a one-two start, and they could have won easily won a second game of that series. So a lot of positives out of that. And then obviously it's a big huge series this weekend with with Gwynn. You want to try to get two out of three in that one at least to uh have a tiebreaker on another team in the conference. So people don't understand that only four teams make the playoffs in baseball and softball now. So it's a battle for those four playoff spots trying to get in. So every series you don't win, you put yourself at risk and possibly being on the outside. So it's a big series. Hopefully, uh baseball will get it done. Moving over into softball. Softball, unfortunately, has had a problem with a lot of you know, the kind of the last four outings in this area have been been lost due to the weather, unfortunately, whether it be Stockton Wilkes and Alvernia seen rain outs, so that's uh you know kind of hard for them. They opened up the Land Nicky's conference play down at Newman on Saturday. They fell in game one in the double header and then lost in the final inning seven to six in game two. Uh Natalia D'Anofrio had uh two scored two runs in the uh in game one, Emma Pinto had it had two hits and two RBIs. Sarah Pearson started on the mound, struck out three batters in three innings. Game one was close through the first three innings of the game, but Newman pulled away in the sixth with five runs. Carly Carcher, Jamie Green, Isabella Bostella, and Alexis Andrade each logged uh two hits in game two in the doubleheader. Newman actually jumped out to a five-nothing lead in game two, a six-run sixth inning brought Immaculata back in the game. Ricunzo, Tarowinga tied to score at 5-5 with a two-RBI triple. And Natalia D'Anofrio but helped you know take the lead after a uh kind of a defensive throwing error. Army Sider went four innings on the mound with a strikeout. The Knights, unfortunately, were able to uh win on a walk-off at RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and scheduled to play Penn State Abington on Tuesday in a double header at 230. Obviously, weather depending. Kind of a tough start for softball back in this area after a you know a good tournament down to Myrtle Beach. But, you know, hopefully they'll be able to turn things around in you know the next couple games, guys.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Yeah, I mean, tough one against Newman, but that game two definitely was a good battle. And seeing, you know, that two RBI triple, you know, just sometimes you can fight your way back in a game slowly, and sometimes it happens all in one inning, as we saw with the latter option there, you know, with the two RBI triple and then a defensive error leading the Mighty Max getting that slim one-run lead, and then of course Newman got the win in the bottom of the seventh. Tough one, but definitely it was a battle. Game one just kind of got away from them, and like you said earlier, with all these uh rainouts, it's been tough to kind of, I guess, find consistency with the the schedule at the moment, and you know, so we'll see if they can play tomorrow, Penn State Abington, and see how they do for the rest of the the season as we get closer to conference play.

Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Yeah, it is unfortunate with the weather, just keep messing everything up with their games, and hopefully they'll have their home opener here on Thursday against your Sinus. But one thing to keep in mind for baseball and softball is like when you see these opponents later down the line, every game's a new game. Like softball last year, Merrywood swept us in the regular season, but we were able to beat them in the um tournament. So that was always important to keep that in mind that every game is a new game in these games. You all play the seven innings, so it's always important to keep that in mind. Switching gears now to track and field, who both men's and women's opened up their outdoor season this this past weekend. They took part in the Westchester Purple and Gold Open. On the men's side, almost every participant in the men's track and field set a PR, which is pretty awesome. Connor Kakowski placed eighth in the 5,000 meters at 181206. Jason Cantorillo came in 13th in the 5k at a time of 20, 1665, a PR for him. Colin Quirkery came in ninth in the hammer throw at 36.5 meters. That's a PR record and IU record. And it was actually he actually set the IU record on his first row and then broke his own IU record on the second throw. He also came in ninth in the discus at 37.3 meters. That's a PR and an IU record. He set the IU record twice in that as well. And Dylan Cruz came in second in the long jump at 6.7 meters, another PR and an IU record. In the woman's side, Joni Lauer finished 16th in the Hammer threat at 24.89 meters, also an IU record. Everyone's getting the trend here. Already Don Hugh came in second in the five in the 5,000 meters at 1844.35. And guess what? That was an IU record as well. Brianna Caldwell finished 23rd and 400 meters at 14.04 seconds, another IU record. And Abby Grillo picking up right where she left off on the basketball court. She took eighth in the 400 meters at 1 minute and 83 seconds and broke an IU record in her first collegiate race. The men's and women's track and field team heads to Lebanon Valley for the blue and white open on Saturday, March 28th, with events beginning at 10 a.m. Lebanon Valley has a brand new track that they just input, so it's going to be good for our teams to get on there. But a lot, a lot of IU program records were broken at this first meet, so a good start for them.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

Yeah, it was definitely a good weekend for the uh good start for the uh the track and field teams over there at Westchester. I know that's a big event. You lost strong competition in that event, and it's you know a decent facility over there in Westchester, so that was that's a good job seeing them get that type of start, seeing these athletes have the success. Yeah, it's good to see uh the who is across and track benefited from From athletes from the uh for the women's basketball team, obviously, this week. So it's good to see those athletes excelling in their other sports that they participate in as well and seeing our teams do well. And that's you know, it's a good start for you guys for the track team, particularly you guys, Connor. You know, you're a part of that team. And we're we're appreciative that you got back here in time to be able to help us out on Friday with flag football. The Kakowski family was huge for us this weekend, with his uh sister Brooke helping us up in the press box with flag football. And then Mrs. Kikowski coming right on time with a with a pizza for the press box staff that day. So that was uh a big mom. That was uh that was clutch. So but it was a a good a good weekend, good start for the track field team, and uh looking forward to seeing more uh more records fall as the season goes along until we host championships here at the end of the season.

Men's and Women's Tennis

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Yeah, shout out Mrs. Kikowski, though. That that pizza was clutch. Yeah, but some great results from both track teams. I mean, a lot of IU records and you know PRs as well. And when I was writing the men's recap yesterday, and I'm looking, I went on Tfers. Now, for those of you that are not in sports information, Tfers stands for track and field results reporting system, and that's where you can see like all the results, and if you know a certain athlete broke their career high or you know, personal record, and it's all their stats that's just continually logged. And I'm just going through them and everything, PR, PR, PR, PR, PR. And I'm like, oh my gosh. So it took me a couple minutes to get all those figured out, but you know, it was definitely great to see our athletes doing a great job to start the outdoor season. Let's go over to tennis to wrap things up here. Men's and women's tennis open conference play against Marymount on Saturday. Unfortunately, it was a Marymount sweep. The men fell 7-0, while the women fell 6-1 on the men's side. Easton Ragno and Ryan Muckle, and the pairing of Alex Cora Stones and Patrick Arnold, both teams fell 6-4 in doubles, but Mike DeMate and Nick Brown won 6-4 in doubles. So each doubles match was highly competitive for the men. And Alex Corps Stones was the singles highlight in number five singles. He fell 1-6-6-4-8-10. So he won all three sets in that one. On the women's side, Sophia Carey and Laura Farrow won 6-3 in doubles. Laura Farrow also won 6-2-6-2 in singles. And then Haley Elwell went a tough three sets in number two singles, 6-4, 2-6-3-6. So some great results on both sides. And up next, both teams have Bridgewater on Wednesday the 25th at 3.30. That'll be here. And then on Saturday, they host Pratt for a bright and early 9 a.m. senior day. So if you want to get out to the tennis courts, make sure you uh catch some tennis. But yeah, some good results, guys. I know it's been tough these last couple matches, and Hilton Head, South Carolina, they're facing some tough opponents. But against a conference rival, really giving Marymount some work.

Elizabeth Mahmud and Alexa Marczak Interview

SPEAKER_02 25:05

Yeah, it was a kind of a good tough day, but uh they uh some good results for some of the uh for some of the uh the players, and hopefully, you know, they'll be able to bounce back and have a couple other matches where they'll have some better results in and everything like that. I think now will be a good time to bring in our guests, Elizabeth Mahmoud and Alexa Marzak of the Women's Lacrosse team. We'll be back to talk with them after this quick break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. And welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. We are joined by our guests, Elizabeth Mahmoud and Alexa Marzak from the women's lacrosse team. Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_04 25:44

Hello.

unknown 25:45

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Take us uh back. What first got you into lacrosse and when do you realize it was something you wanted to pursue seriously?

SPEAKER_04 25:53

I started playing lacrosse in third grade. It wasn't until around middle school that I decided I wanted to compete at the collegiate level. And coming from a high school that was very competitive, it was kind of something that I always wanted to do. So I started my recruitment in my sophomore year, and then eventually started to talk to coaches in high school. It was just something that I always knew I wanted to do, and then I was happy I got to pursue it.

SPEAKER_03 26:17

I didn't start playing with cross until I think sixth grade. My dad introduced me to the sport. He was my first coach. I loved it right away. I grew up thinking I wanted to play in college, and then I kind of shifted my focus to field hockey in high school. So I committed here to play that, and then I didn't decide to play here until my sophomore year when a goalie senior on my field hockey team, Ashley Finkbeiner, convinced me to start playing again.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

So, Liz, you came to Immaculata from St. Francis, and they are currently a D1 school transitioning to D three. And ironically enough, you guys played Delaware State last year, and I came from Delaware State. What are your thoughts on going from D1 to D three competition? Obviously, D one, you know, it's just a lot more high pressure situations, D three, maybe not as highly competitive as Division I, but what's that transition been like?

SPEAKER_04 27:12

Yeah, definitely. Coming from St. Francis to Immaculata has definitely been an adjustment, but also a really positive one. At the division one level, everything is very intense and structured around athletics, which did push me to be grow as a lot as a player. But moving to Division III, I found a better balance between academics, athletics, and also my personal life. But the competition is still strong, but the environment feels more focused on overall development and the love of the game. It's also given me a new perspective and allowed me to enjoy playing in a different way while still competing at a high level.

SPEAKER_00 27:44

Alexa, you kind of already answered this question the first one, but you just you said you joined the Woman's Lacrosse team, your sophomore year after playing field hockey in the fall. So, like when I actually try to recruit you to um come back to sport, what made you really want to get back into it?

SPEAKER_03 27:57

Yeah, so after focusing on field hockey and committing to Immaculate to play that, I honestly didn't really think I would play lacrosse again. But Ashley pushed and pushed basically my entire sophomore field hockey season to start playing lacrosse again, and I'm really glad that she did because once I started again, it really just reminded me how much I loved it and missed competing in that sport, so it felt right just to get back into it.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

Ashley Thinkmeiner always doing her convincing things.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Yeah, she was definitely a big personality around here. What are your thoughts on Saturday's win over Bryn Mahr?

SPEAKER_04 28:32

I thought we had a lot of energy going into the game. Um, obviously it was senior day. So a lot of us girls wanted to win that game for our seniors because they've just put in so much work and effort into this team. It also was a beautiful day. We don't get a lot of those. So I think just the overall vibe of Saturday, everyone was so excited and we went out there and really got it done. I think we had a lot of adjustments at practice over the week before that game. So I think we also went into the game very prepared.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Yeah, those pretty much covered it. I think we really all just wanted to win for our seniors, so it was a great team win, and I think it showed how well we can play together when everything really clicks.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

It was a good day. And I I was at your guys' game the other day at Swathborn, even though that was a difficult game. I did see the hard work the team did put in, and you know, everybody really worked hard. It's just they're they're a very high-level team, so that was a good day for you guys on Saturday. And I was glad this, you know, the seniors would particularly ones I Riley and uh Carly that I dealt with, you know, and Abby, their entire career as they started at the same time I started here too. So that's nice to see them have that success on that day.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

This season obviously has had some challenges with it. Yeah, as a team, you guys just seem to be having a lot of fun together. You're enjoying the fun the moments. What do you enjoy most about playing with this team right now?

SPEAKER_03 29:46

I think the best part of playing for this team is just how close we all are. Even through the challenges and harder games, we always support each other and keep things positive. So that makes it a lot of fun to be around the team every day and just keep getting closer.

SPEAKER_04 30:02

Yeah, I agree, I agree with Alexa. I was actually just in class with Abby and Bailey, and we have off today, and they were saying how we wish we had practice today, which you don't really hear a lot because we just have so much fun as a team. And while we do work really hard, it is a lot of building relationships at this level and just kind of getting to know these girls. And at the end of the day, it's the relationships you make along the way. So I think that's what a lot of these girls play this sport for is to have that community and to have those friendships.

SPEAKER_01 30:32

You guys have had two players join you in the last week from the women's basketball team, Kira Benoit and Julia Pohl, just wrapping up their NCAA tournament appearance for basketball. But what has those additions brought to your team overall? Because it seems like they're making immediate impacts.

SPEAKER_04 30:48

Yeah, it's really great to have them on the roster this year. Kira has brought a lot of intensity to the attacking side. She's kind of what we call her our quarterback on the offense. She's a great playmaker, really sees the field well. And Julia is also a great athlete. She's running midfield with myself and a couple other of our freshmen. And she really understands and picks up new instructions well. She's good on the offensive side and the defensive side. So overall, great athletes, and we love to have them.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Yeah, Julia and Kira, I think, have come from basketball and just made an immediate impact. You can tell they're both athletes. They both played in high school, so it's great to have some new players who really know the game. They've come with a great attitude and great work ethic, and I think they've just added a great dynamic.

SPEAKER_02 31:39

Who is the funniest teammate you have on your team?

SPEAKER_03 31:42

I would easily say Bailey Knights. She's just always making us all laugh, even when she doesn't mean to or realize it.

SPEAKER_04 31:51

Yeah, I think the best part of having a small team is that we're all so close. So we have to have those inside jokes, and Bailey is at the root of a lot of them, which we love.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

We didn't realize that Bailey Knights was the MVP the other day for a senior day. Everybody giving her a shout-out.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

She was the MVP for us for the first flag football tri match, too, up in the press box, dealing with all the craziness, writing down every play for us.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

So picking up on that, who do you guys think brings the most energy to the team?

SPEAKER_04 32:16

I would honestly say the girls sitting next to me, Alexa. She comes to practice every day. She always has a smile on her face and works hard even on her off days. We all have them, but she's always working hard and trying to be a next play mentality. She really gets the girls' height before games too, is always dancing in the locker room. So I think she's a good teammate to have on our team.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Going off of what Liz said, I would also say that I think she brings a good amount of the energy to practice and before games. She's always dancing right next to me in the locker room and also trying to get everyone super excited for game day.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

Who would you say is somebody on the team that deserves more recognition or is kind of like underrated, flying under the radar type thing?

SPEAKER_03 32:58

I would say Carly Oberg. She has really made a huge impact this season on defense, offense during our transition, really all over the field. She's really been just a rock for our team this season, all over the field.

SPEAKER_04 33:14

I think also staying on the defensive side, Riley Mullen, having two seniors that really understand our defense well is something that really flies under the radar because it's such a difficult job to kind of keep everyone in check and you know, being in their spots, and they're also both a good force in our transition. Also being captains, like they're definitely both leaders, and we really rely on them for a lot of our defensive unit.

SPEAKER_00 33:38

What's something in your game that doesn't show up in the stat sheet, but you guys take pride in when you guys are playing this sport?

SPEAKER_03 33:44

I think personally my ability to always lift up my teammates, whether it's making a mistake or just getting down on themselves, I think I do a good job of trying to lift them back up and help them focus on the next play.

SPEAKER_04 33:59

I also agree with that, but also something that people don't really notice is kind of draw work. A lot of times redirecting the draw is a big part of the game. So when I personally take the draw, I like to put it into space and I like to get it to my teammates. You know, that's something that a lot of people don't notice. It's a really important part of the game because if you don't run the draw, you can't really do much with it on attack. So I think redirecting the draw and having a strategy going into the game for that is something that goes a little bit unnoticed.

SPEAKER_02 34:27

As uh the team enters conference play this week, uh what is one goal for the rest of the season that you have for this team?

SPEAKER_04 34:34

I think coming out onto the field like we did on Saturday is really important for us. We had a lot of energy and I think we haven't really seen that all season. And also like keeping our confidence and composure on attack and not really creating a lot of turnovers that are unnecessary. I think having possession of the ball is a really important goal for us.

SPEAKER_03 34:53

I agree. I think on Saturday we saw a lot of things that we either haven't seen at all, or we came out really strong against Widener. So I think we saw that again on Saturday. So I think just keeping that up, improving, working hard at practice, and just going into conference play and finishing our season strong as a team, playing the best across we can and staying connected with each other.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

We thank you for coming in and speaking with us today. Uh, it's been great having you, and we wish you guys obviously luck up at Del Valle on Wednesday, and then look forward to uh seeing you guys back home on Saturday. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 35:30

Thank you. Thank you guys.

Conclusion

SPEAKER_02 35:32

And we'll be back after this quick break on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. And welcome back to the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. You know, it was another good show this week, guys, and look forward to uh another good week, hopefully, in Immaculate Athletics. That will wrap it up for this week, and we hope you will join us next week on the Tuesday Talk IU Athletics Podcast. Rollbacks, uh