The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/27/04 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Brett Mickelson Tammy Michel

It's not easy making the transition from high school to Division I athletics, but for three UConn women's lacrosse players, it was effortless.

Senior defenseman Melissa MacDougall, senior midfielder Kariane Lauri, and junior attacker Tammy Michel all finished successful careers at C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y. and came to UConn to continue their careers together. Since arriving in Storrs, all three have become starting members of the team and have formed a core that leaves their mark on the game up and down the field.

"They're all great student-athletes, they're wonderful people," head coach Bonnie Rosen said. "Melissa, she's definitely the vocal leader of the group. Tammy is, by far, our strongest and most up-beat person on the team, and Kariane is that kind of quiet, confident person that gets it done."

Having familiar faces on the field has helped MacDougall, Michel and Lauri to feel at home throughout their time at UConn.

Media Credit: Brett Mickelson Kariane Lauri

"Nobody knows how you are in high school," MacDougall said. "You come to college and it's nice because they know your family, they know your friends, they know how you were in high school."

Each of the three fit right in when they came to UConn and quickly became contributing members of the team. Lauri played in 14 games her freshman year, MacDougall saw time in 13 and Michel played in 10 games in her rookie season.

"From the time they got here, you would never know they were from the same high school," Rosen said. "They immediately blended into UConn and became UConn, and people didn't really realize they were from the same high school until you looked at a media guide."

Rosen acknowledges them for making a smooth transition to UConn and being able to put aside success they had found in high school and concentrate on becoming a part of a new program.

"It's a big credit to them that they were ready to move on from high school and be part of the next thing together," Rosen said.

C.W. Baker boasts a solid girl's lacrosse program, which won the 2000 NYS Championship, and were ranked 12th in the nation by laxpower.com in 2001, Michel's senior year.

The three have not only had great athletic success at UConn, but have also shown their ability and character off of the field. All three were NYS Scholar Athletes in high school and all have been on the Dean's list at UConn.

MacDougall and Lauri have formed a special bond, as they are now finishing up their seventh year as teammates. They played pivotal roles in their team's state championship in their senior season and have become leaders on this year's UConn team.

"It's been nice because me and Kariane have been together since our sophomore year in high school," MacDougall said. "She was always the attacker and I was always the defender, and it's always nice because we can talk about both ends of the field and just rely on each other all this time."

Rosen said that her decision to pursue Michel was partially influenced by the success that she had found in the athletes that she had recruited from C.W. Baker, including MacDougall and Lauri.

"They certainly started the trend," Rosen said. "We had actually had Baldwinsville people before Melissa and Kariane as well. There are great student-athletes out of their school and I'd welcome anyone from their team from the time, for sure."

"We're always looking for people from any of these players' high schools because they represent them so well."

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