Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 17, 1995 TAG: 9507180143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As she watched her son win gold medals at the first two Commonwealth Games boys' lacrosse tournaments, Kathy Jenkins wondered if there ever would be a similar competition for girls.
She couldn't have been more pleased with the answer.
Now all she has to do is win a gold medal to match her son and daughter.
Brooke Jenkins scored two goals in the first 2:10 on Sunday at Hollins College in leading North 2 past the West all-stars 13-7 for the championship of the first Commonwealth Games girls' lacrosse tournament.
Her mother took home a bronze medal after coaching North 1 to an 11-8 victory over the East in the third-place game.
Serves her right for not drafting her daughter.
``She has to play for me too often,'' said Kathy Jenkins, also the head field hockey coach and assistant girls' basketball coach at St. Stephens/St. Agnes in Alexandria. ``I decided to give her a break.''
Brooke Jenkins wasn't the only sister to repeat her brother's accomplishment. North 2 teammate Jenny Testrake is the brother of Chris Testrake, who won a gold medal in 1992.
Ande Jenkins, Brooke's brother, played on gold-medal teams in 1991 and '92. To carry the connection one step further, Ande Jenkins and Chris Testrake are now teammates on the men's lacrosse team at Washington and Lee University.
``I asked a couple of people about the girls when we were here before,'' Kathy Jenkins said. ``They said they had wanted to put it in, but they were waiting till there was more involvement with girls' lacrosse. When my son was no longer playing, I kind of lost contact.''
The drive to start a girls' lacrosse tournament came from Albemarle High School coach Kathryn Baylor and Centreville High School coach Michelle Maxwell-Gold. They found a receptive ear in Jarrott Brogdon, boys' coordinator for the past four years.
``A lack of venues was one problem,'' Brogdon said, ``but once we got the boys on solid ground with both the high schools and middle schools, we decided this would be a good year to try the girls.''
Although no Roanoke-area high schools have varsity or intramural girls' lacrosse teams, the sport has enjoyed tremendous growth in other parts of the state. Maxwell-Gold said 21 public schools in Fairfax County have varsity lacrosse teams and most have junior varsity squads.
``When I went to Robinson [High School] six years ago as an assistant, there were eight [or] maybe 10 teams,'' she said. ``That doubled over the next three years. The hardest thing now is to find coaches - that's really hurt us - and referees.''
Women's lacrosse has taken off at the college level, particularly in Virginia. Some of the schools that offer scholarships are James Madison, William and Mary, Old Dominion and Virginia Tech - none of which offers men's lacrosse as a scholarship varsity sport.
``There still aren't many college coaches at our games,'' Maxwell-Gold said. ``That's coming.''
Brooke Jenkins has been contacted by Vanderbilt, where women's lacrosse becomes a varsity sport this year. She would have to pay her way if she played in the Ivy League or at a smaller, Division III school, as she is contemplating, but she certainly is scholarship material.
``The lacrosse here today was better than [at] a lot of the Division III games I've seen,'' one of the officials said.
Another made a plea for qualified officials, including men, although there are vast differences between the men's and women's games. There are 12 players in women's lacrosse, as opposed to 10 in the men's game; there are no helmets or body checks; and there are no boundaries.
``It's a finesse game that relies on speed, agility and stick-handling,'' Maxwell-Gold said.
The West team included three players from Cave Spring High School - Nicholle Proffit, Lauren McCann and Brooke Frazier - as well as two Roanokers who attend schools outside the area, Mary Logan and Sommers Weaver.
``The response has been even more enthusiastic than what we got from the boys originally,'' Brogdon said. ``It's only going to get bigger as word gets out.''
by CNB