WASHINGTON SCHOOLGIRLS LACROSSE ASSOCIATION VARSITY A

The Team to Beat: Bainbridge Island

After three straight seasons of falling short against Lakeside in the state championship game, the Spartans will have a huge chip on their shoulders coming into the 2009 season. Hungry may not be a proper adjective to describe this team. Bainbridge Island is downright famished.

Behind senior middie Sally Baumgartner, senior middie Mariah Walk, senior goalie Jo Wallace and junior defender Rachel Harmon, the Spartans will be a tough team to beat this season.

Contenders: Lakeside, Holy Names, Roosevelt

Three-time defending state champion Lakeside will have its say as well. Lakeside returns eight starters, including senior goalie Sarah Adler, senior middie Morgan Merriman, junior middie Sylvia Warren and junior defender Ellen Zocher.

Holy Names has one of the state’s best players in Lafayette-bound senior middie-defender Victoria Maxon. Roosevelt brings back standout senior middie Madeline Grose and gets back senior middie Frannie Hemmelgarn, who sat out her entire junior season with a serious knee injury.

Sleeper: Snohomish

Last year’s Varsity B state champions enter the 2009 season on a 15-game winning streak. Snohomish brings back eight of 12 starters and 11 of its 21 varsity players from last season’s unbeaten team. First-team, Varsity B, All-State selections Hannah Price and Alyssa Retallick, both seniors, are back to lead the defense. On offense, sophomore attack Meaghan Hess and junior attack Natalie Sidirius will give opposing defenses fits.

NCAA Division I Recruits: Caroline Mahony, MF, Mercer Island (St. Mary’s); Victoria Maxon, MF-Def., Holy Names (Lafayette).

Mahony was one of three first-team, U.S. Lacrosse All-American selections last season, and she was the only junior picked. Her two older brothers Kevin and Greg were also standout lacrosse players at Mercer Island. Caroline Mahony has started since her freshman season.

Other Top Players: Sarah Adler, G, Lakeside; Sarah Babich, Def., Seattle Prep; Hannah Bahn, Att., Mercer Island; Sally Baumgartner, MF, Bainbridge Island; Jessika Carlstrom, MF, Curtis; Mari Carmichael, MF, Nathan Hale; Jillian Chong, MF, Forest Ridge; Kate Donahue, Def., Tacoma; Madeline Grose, MF, Roosevelt; Isabel Harbaugh, Def., Nathan Hale; Rachel Harmon, Def., Bainbridge Island; Frannie Hemmelgarn, MF, Roosevelt; Olivia Hull, Att., Roosevelt; Alex Mackenzie, Def., Overlake; Morgan Merriman, MF, Lakeside; Corey Milnovich, MF, Nathan Hale; Merielle Moffatt, MF, Bellevue; Kylie Neale, MF, Lake Sammamish; Conley Nemyre, Att., Bellevue; Hannah Price, Def., Snohomish; Alyssa Retallick, Def., Snohomish; Lara Sidhu, Att., Nathan Hale; Mariah Walk, MF, Bainbridge Island; Jo Wallace, G, Bainbridge Island; Sylvia Warren, MF, Lakeside; Olivia Wold, Def., Mercer Island; Ellen Zocher, MF, Lakeside.

Preseason Top 10: 1. Bainbridge Island, 2. Lakeside, 3. Holy Names Academy, 4. Roosevelt, 5. Mercer Island, 6. Snohomish, 7. Lake Sammamish, 8. Seattle Prep, 9. Tacoma, 10. Nathan Hale.

Notes: Varsity A has expanded to 15 teams this season and the league has switched to a single-table format. Each team will play each other once during the regular season….Bainbridge Island senior middie Sally Baumgartner and Forest Ridge senior middie Jillian Chong were each selected as U.S. Lacrosse All-American, honorable mentions last season….Longtime Mercer Island Varsity B head coach Craig Van Der Horn has taken over the school’s Varsity A program. Former Mercer Island Varsity A head coach Megan Elston has left the team and relocated to Boston….Nathan Hale brings back four players who were selected first-team, All-State in Varsity B last season. They are senior attack Lara Sidhu, senior middies Corey Milnovich and Mari Carmichael and senior defender Isabel Harbaugh.