Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
California
Dogs Pay Tribute To Senior Class
4/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 10, 2011
FRESNO, Calif. - Few athletes can walk away from their collegiate careers and accurately claim they started a program. Few can say they walked in when their sport was at ground zero and walked out with a solid foundation behind them.
But that's where seniors Amira Ferrell, Krisdina Gehring, Heather Jack, Kassandra Martinson and Jennifer Smith are different.
When women's lacrosse was added to the fold at Fresno State three years ago, these five took a chance and joined the Bulldogs for their inaugural season. Sunday afternoon marked the end of an era of sorts, as Fresno State celebrated "Senior Day" with an MPSF match against Cal at Bulldog Stadium. While the Bulldogs fell 15-2, the afternoon wasn't solely defined by the outcome.
Prior to the game, Ferrell, Gehring, Jack, Martinson and Smith each received a framed jersey, a small token of appreciation for their contributions.
"Being able to come in as five strangers and stick together this long to build a foundation, that says a lot about them as people," Fresno State interim co-head coach Carlee Buck said. "In 10 years, they'll look back and be able to see what they've accomplished."
When that day comes, it will no doubt be bittersweet. After all, when the five seniors joined the team in 2009, many of them knew very little about lacrosse. Even the simple act of catch was a foreign concept for these former soccer, basketball and volleyball players.
"It's just emotional knowing how all five seniors started from Day 1, pretty much not knowing how to throw the ball," Gehring said with a smile. "It's great to see the progress we've made."
That incremental progress was somewhat thwarted Sunday afternoon, as the Bears challenged the Bulldogs from the outset. Cal came out firing and couldn't miss. The Bears took a commanding 7-0 lead just seven minutes into the game following a goal by junior attacker Tara Arolla. Cal led 11-2 at halftime and never looked back.
The Bears out-shot Fresno State 33-12, and Vail Horn led all scorers with four goals. Kara Concheck and Taylor Fiehler scored for Fresno State, which will face Denver in its final home game of the season Monday morning.
"We knew going in that Cal was going to be a challenge," Gehring said. "They're a well-developed team. We knew if we played how we play, we'd have success in different ways. We've had a few bumps in the road, but we've stayed positive. We play for each other."
"We Are Your Team!" -- Fresno State wraps up its final homestand of the 2011 season Monday morning with an MPSF matchup against Denver. The action starts at 11 a.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
