By Zoe Staum ’14
Photo Courtesy of Ana White
Ana White ‘14, coming off a freshman year in which she won Patriot League Rookie of the Year, started off the 2012 season in great fashion, winning the Patriot League Women’s Lacrosse Midfield Player of the Week after her four goal and two assist performance against Wagner.
“I think I am more confident with the ball this year,” White said, “I have a higher sense of confidence all around on the field.”
Originally from Europe, White holds dual-citizenship in the US and Spain. Her American father moved to Spain to play professional basketball where he met White’s Spanish mother. “I am fluent in Spanish,” White said, “It’s funny because my mom speaks to me in Spanish but my dad speaks to me in English. And even though my accent is gone, my older brother still has a bit of an accent.”
When White was nine years old, after her father’s basketball career had ended, the family moved to Pennsylvania. As a third grader starting her new life in America, White discovered lacrosse, which is not played in Spain.
“I started playing because my best friend here played,” she said. “That was in addition to playing basketball and soccer.”
White eventually chose to focus all of her efforts on lacrosse. “Lacrosse was the one I enjoyed the most and it is probably the one I am best at honestly,” she said.
When she was in her junior year of high school, lacrosse began to take over her free time. “I played on the varsity team in school and a club team outside of school,” White said, “I added the club team so I could get recruited so I was always playing lacrosse on the weekends and during the summer when I played in a lot of camps and clinics.”
However, White insists the lengthy time commitment is worth it. “I have always thought [lacrosse] is more fun than it is hard work.”
What she might consider hard work is the course load from her biology major. Science always captivated her interest over math and English. Her ultimate career goal is to be a doctor. “Over interim I did an externship following a cardiologist,” she said. “It was definitely an eye-opening experience. You meet patients with serious heart conditions and it is very moving.”
When asked if she could remember any highlights from her career at Strath Haven High School, White jumped at the chance to share one special memory wondering, “Can I be really specific?”
In her senior year, Strath Haven’s lacrosse team beat a rival they had lost to the previous three years.
“We beat them by one,” White said. “It was surreal. It was the best game ever because we had never beaten them. We won on a last minute goal with maybe 10 seconds left on the clock. It was great. There are only a few games that I remember that vividly but this one I do.”
After an amazing senior year, White found it tough to adjust to lacrosse at Lafayette as a freshman. “It’s definitely hard going from a high school team that is so successful to being on a college team that struggles to win,” White said.
This year, however, White is very optimistic. “We are finally getting some wins so it’s all good.”
Look for the awards to continue pouring in as White continues adapting to the college game.