POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 12, 2014) – Coming off a stellar 2013 season, the Vassar College women's lacrosse team is currently doing some high-altitude training in the Colorado Rockies as they gear up for what senior captain Phoebe Tzannes (Lexington, MA/Lexington) stated, "This is our year."

    Vassar finished last season with a record of 12-4 and 6-3 in the Liberty League. It was also the first time the Brewers punched a ticket to the League playoffs since 2007. They were knocked out in the first round by soon-to-be League Champions and national quarterfinalists, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers.

    With the solid season, especially having lost only one of their eight home games, the Brewers graduated four seniors with Marissa Reilly, Lindsay Haggerty, Elizabeth Annis and Michela Garrison. Tzannes, a two-year captain for the Brewers, will play her final season as well as captain Malena Harrang (Bellevue, WA/Forest Ridge School), Nicole Magney (Chevy Chase, MD/Maret School), Zoe Ripecky (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) and Catherine Fiore (Essex Fells, NJ/West Essex).

    The majority of the Brewers' 23-player roster is composed of juniors. Captain Jacqueline Palma (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset Junior-Senior) leads the third year group as a member of the 2013 All-Liberty League First Team as a defender. There are nine juniors on the team and five of them were key starters last year.

    Besides Palma, Dara Davis (Guilford, CT/Guilford), Evie Toland (Nyack, NY/Nyack), Katherine Pula (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) and Katherine Stegmann (Austin, TX/St. Andrews Episcopal School) all started 13 or more of Vassar's 15-game season.

    As freshmen, current sophomores Isabelle Goldstein (Belmont, MA/Belmont), Paige Abramowitz (Maplewood, NJ/Millburn) and Kim Mulvehill (Sudbury, MA/Chapel Hill – Chauncey Hall) all saw action in almost every game, if not more. Goldstein was the only freshman who started last year and also the only Brewer who started in all 16 and was a member of the 2013 All-American First Team by the Jewish Sports Review.

    Vassar welcomes in five freshmen this season. Brittany Botticelli (Commack, NY/Commack), Phoebe Hankins (Belvedere, CA/San Francisco University), Sydney Spadinger (Shelton, CT/Shelton), Darby Stahl (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook Kingswood) and Julia Trudell (Newtown, CT/Newtown) are this year's incomers and will look to contribute to the team's success this season.

    The Brewers' cage will be protected by the same goalie staff as last year with Pula, junior Hilary McDonnell (Blue Bell, PA/The Springside School) and sophomore Mallory Tyler (Hollis, NH/Phillips Academy).

    Vassar starts their season with a game today at 4:00 pm Mountain Daylight Time against Regis University. The Brewers will then take on Colorado College in Colorado Springs on Friday, March 14, followed by Denison University at Colorado College on Sunday, March 16.

    The Brewers will spend the majority of their time on buses this year, having only four home contests and eight away. Coming back from Colorado, they will face Hudson Valley local, Mount Saint Mary College on Tuesday, March 18 at 5:00 pm. Vassar's first home game will also be their first of their Liberty League schedule when they host Skidmore College on Friday, March 28 at 4:00 pm.