July 4, 2008

It's never too early.

With the 2008 season in the books, our neuroses turn to 2009. From Division I to Division III, MCLA to WDIA, we're spanning the college lacrosse globe for a look at what's in store for coaches and players. Check back to LMO each Friday for a new Q&A feature, as our "Countdown to `09" series continues.

---

by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

When the field for the Division III women's lacrosse tournament was announced, all of the usual suspects were primed to make a stab at the tournament. College of New Jersey, Middlebury, Gettysburg, Salisbury and defending champion Franklin & Marshall each appeared to have a decent shot at capturing the Walnut & Bronze.

But when the dust settled, a new power had emerged.

Hamilton College, which traditionally had taken a back seat to Cortland and William Smith in New York and to it's half-sisters in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, expanded the elite club by knocking off Middlebury, Salisbury and F&M on its way to the title.

One of the key cogs for the Continentals was then-junior Kaillie Briscoe. The Orangeville, Ontario, native scored two goals and set up two others in Hamilton's convincing, 13-6 win over F&M in the title game and finished the postseason with seven goals and six assists.

LMO's Countdown caught up with Kaillie after she returned from the All-American banquet in mid-June.

Was there ever a point last fall when you and some teammates were hanging out in a dorm room, at dinner, or after practice, when you or one of your teammates said, "You know what, I think we might be able to win this thing?"

That absolutely happened. I can actually think of a couple conversations where that went down with Tara Eckberg and me. We've talked about it a lot since my freshman year but after getting a sniff of it last year, I guess it became more real. We made it to the tournament, so our thought was "we've made it this far - let's take it to the next step". It was something we all felt was a definite possibility for this season.

In the third game of the season you led F&M 13-10 with five minutes in the game, but they managed to come back and beat you by a goal with three seconds left. As you look back, how important was that game?

I would say that loss was the best thing that could have happen to us, although it definitely didn't feel like it at the time. It was the most awful feeling. We had a team meeting after that and we all made a pact that we would never let a game slip away from us like that again.

I can think of countless times throughout the rest of the season when we'd be in a huddle, and we'd be up by a few - basically the same situation we had been in with F&M. Our motto from that point on was, `No Let-downs.' We knew that we couldn't let down for a second. One of the main things we'd say is, `Don't let another F&M happen.' That really motivated us to not only work hard in the first half to build that lead, but to maintain that focus and intensity through to the final whistle.

F&M taught us how to close a game. It really showed us how to work hard for a full 60 minutes, because we were ahead for 56 minutes of that game and then, `Boom!' It was a great thing for us because we took a negative and made it into a positive by learning from it.

The final horn goes off at the national championship game. What did you do? What was the feeling? Has it worn off yet?

I don't even really think I can describe it because it didn't feel real for so long. I am still on cloud nine and it's almost July. Growing up, it's always something you think about: I want to win; I want to win a national championship when I play lacrosse in the States. But when it happened, I thought, `I can't believe it.' It was the most overwhelming, exciting feeling, but I can say it has definitely not worn off.

I was actually driving through Clinton [New York, location of Hamilton] yesterday. I had been at the All-American banquet in Pennsylvania and I had stopped by to see some friends on my way back to the Great White North. I went into a restaurant wearing a Hamilton lacrosse tee-shirt and people who noticed the shirt stopped me to chat and congratulate me again. The pride and the excitement have definitely not worn off, and I'm not sure if it ever will. It was just such an exciting thing and I will cherish those memories forever.

How does a nice Canadian gal find her way to Clinton, N.Y.? What sold you on the Continentals? Patty Kloidt? The school?

I would say it was a combination of everything. When I was looking at different schools, the campuses were great and the coaches made some really enticing promises but I would pick out the most insignificant thing to criticize. I just kept saying to my mom, `I don't know. This just isn't what I want,' and my mom always pointed out how outrageous my reasoning was, but for whatever reason, I knew it wasn't the place for me.

I had an idea in my head that when I got to the place I was supposed to be, I would just know. Some sort of intangible feeling, I guess. That seemed ridiculous to my mom at the time, but when we got to Hamilton, I knew 10 minutes before we pulled up, just when we took the cut off from the I-90, that this was the school I was going to go to. I just had a feeling about it.

Everything about the school fit every desire I had for college. I guess I just needed to see it and put words to it to support my feelings with concrete things. Patty is unbelievable. She is the best coach I've ever played for. Our personalities meshed immediately - we both have the same sense of humor, we're both very competitive, we're both very honest, and we both love lacrosse. We have a lot of fun together, and I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for her.

Hamilton boasts a fabulous education, which was also nice. That was a big selling point for my mom especially. To know that I'll come out of there and have something to fall back on is important, because I'm probably not going to be a professional lacrosse player at the end of this. [laughing]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. You lose four seniors, including Nicole Tetreault, off this team and now you'll every team on the schedule gunning for you. Is the team ready for that?

I believe we will be ready to defend our title. I think the big thing we came into this season talking about was how people were going to be gunning for us. We turned some heads last year, kind of making people think about Hamilton College twice. Most people knew they weren't just going to walk over us. I think that we understand that we have a big target on our back going into the 2009 season and we know that we're not going to be overlooked like we were in the past, especially during my freshman year.

As far as the seniors are concerned, we can't replace them as lacrosse players or as people. They are unbelievable leaders, unbelievable friends and unbelievable teammates. Our seniors always unified our team and went that extra step to make sure everyone was okay and everyone was included. I think they set a standard for our team in terms of our work ethic and our attitudes both on and off of the field that helped us mature as both teammates and lacrosse players. We will carry that with us going into 2009.

Our entire team, and in particular our junior class, are ready to step up and take on the seniors' roles. I believe we're ready to fill those shoes even though they are large shoes to fill. No one can replace our seniors but I believe as a group, we can fill the gap that they're leaving by carrying on all the things that they taught us.

What do you envision your role being next year? Does it change from this past year?

That's probably something I'll have to talk to Patty about, but my guess is it probably will not change very much. I was fortunate enough to start right from my freshman year. The greatest thing about our team is that there is no hierarchy; even as a freshman I was able to give my input. If I saw something, or had something to add I always said my piece. I was able to be a leader even though I was a first-year player.

Our team is interesting because we're all on the same level. The seniors don't "run the show". We don't really pick out our leaders based on age; our leaders pick themselves by stepping up and guiding the group. I imagine things will be the same as far as leadership goes in terms of my role. From a playing standpoint I think it will be about the same; I don't think much will change.

When one clicks on your web bio, it's hard not to crack up at your photo. Does that picture sum up Kaillie Briscoe in a nutshell?

I would definitely say that sums me up. We had another Canadian on the team who graduated last year - Kalley Greer - and we always called that our "So-excited-to-be-here" face. If you flick through our team photos Kal and I are always doing it. At the All-American banquet, Coach [Kloidt] said, `Please, don't do the face. I'll even give you a "So-excitied-to-be-here" face picture if you give me one [normal] one.'

I love to make people laugh, and I love lacrosse more than anything so I guess the "So-excited-to-be-here" face reconciles the two.

---

Countdown to '09: Archive
June 20, 2008 - Colby's Jon Thompson
June 27, 2008 - UNC's Joe Breschi