Members of Pine-Richland girls lacrosse participate in national tournament

By: Kevin Lohman
Friday, May 24, 2019 | 7:01 PM

The Pine-Richland girls lacrosse program was well-represented at the 2019 U.S. Lacrosse Women’s national tournament on May 25-26 in Baltimore.

Junior Olivia Hanulak and sophomore Mia Petzuk played for the Pittsburgh team in the prestigious competition.

The annual tournament takes place on the same weekend and at the same site as the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse Final Four. The teams in the event are composed of high school players from grades 9 through 11, and they are organized by subregion. Prospective players are selected after competing in a tryout process that whittles the number of participants to a roster of 20 elite players.

“I’m so honored to be a part of this team,” Petzuk said. “It was definitely a big goal of mine to make the roster. There was a lot of great competition there, but I knew that if I just tried my best, I wouldn’t be disappointed with whatever the result would be. But I am so thankful that I did well enough to make it.

“I’m really excited to represent Western Pa., and to show the rest of the country how good lacrosse is here.”

On top of that, Pine-Richland coach Brittany Adams led the team from the Pittsburgh region and Western Pennsylvania area. Adams, who was named the 2017 U.S. Lacrosse Coach of the Year for Western Pennsylvania and has guided the Rams to a pair of WPIAL Class AAA titles, was joined by her assistant, Brittany Fradkin.

Hanulak, who plays attack, said the idea of playing for her coach, and with her teammate, provided a measure of comfort in a fast-paced, challenging environment.

“It’s relaxing to know that I’m going to be playing with Mia and a few of my club teammates,” Hanulak said. “It’s also great knowing that coach Adams and coach Fradkin will be coaching us.

“It’s really nice knowing that they are familiar with me and how I play. It just makes this whole experience that much more exciting.”

Part of the thrill of the event, according to Hanulak, is the opportunity to play against teams from all over the country.

“It’s exciting to branch out and play other teams from such different places,” she said. “I know that Mia and I both play club lacrosse, too, but that’s mostly just against teams from the East Coast. So, playing against a team from the West Coast and Texas and Tennessee. It’s all just very new.”

Tags: Pine-Richland