After an incredible 3 weeks of our campaign we have raised $7,055 out of our $10,000 fundraising goal! We want to thank all of the friends, family, alumni, and other supporters who have donated thus far. With Nationals right around the corner we want to keep the momentum going and reach our goal! We have another 7 weekdays to raise $2,945 more dollars to help both our Division I and II teams continue to play competitive lacrosse! Help us spread the word this week by sharing our website link (https://spark.ucla.edu/wlax23) with anyone you can. Thank you for your continued support! 

We are also so excited to announce that our Division I team has officially received an at-large bid for the WCLA National Tournament in Virginia Beach, VA!

After finishing the regular season with a 9-4 record, the Bruins traveled to San Diego for the 2023 Western Women’s Lacrosse League Championships. UCLA finished the tournament in 2nd place after a tough battle against SDSU in overtime. Brooke Lewis led the offense with 11 goals during the tournament, followed closely by Talitha Cheng with 8 goals, and Charlotte Hussey with 7 goals. The defense looked as strong as ever picking up ground balls, initiating the transitions through the midfield, and shutting down attackers. Goalie Kate Ruiz finished the tournament with a 55% save average across all 3 tournament games! 

Additionally within the WWLL, Leona Khodabakhshi, Rowdy Farmer, and Talitha Cheng made first team all league, Aliyah Cohen made second team all league, and our very own program president Charlotte Hussey was named WWLL Division I player of the year!

Fortunately, the 2023 Brulax season is not over yet! After almost four months of practices, conditioning, strength training, wall ball, and serious work in the classroom, our DI team will be traveling to Virginia Beach, Virginia for the WCLA National Championship on May 9th-12th. The Bruins are ranked 9th and will face Brigham Young University in their first game of the tournament. 

Our Division II team saw one of the largest turnouts at tryouts this season with a staggering 44 members joining the roster. Although this season did not bring the win outcomes the team hoped for, there was a lot of growth within the team. Led by our amazing coach Kristina Reyes, and newly hired assistant coach Jenny Elliot, the Bruins brought home wins on the road against Stanford and at home against CSU Northridge. The Division II team hopes to come back strong next season and bring the energy to compete for a bid to playoffs!

Jayden Yamasaki led the team with 9 goals this season followed closely by newcomer Rio Gagnon with 8 goals and Elizabeth Gerhardt with 5 goals. This season would not have been the same without our amazing goalies, Heidi Kinsey who recorded 55 saves and Amy Phillips who blocked 14/30 shots on goal (46% save average!). As the saying goes, defense wins games, and the Division II team was in good hands with Cordelia Bergin, Abi Jin, and Ellie Gonzales shutting down attackers and dominating the transitions into the midfield. 

This season included lots of travel, with the team driving to Northern California to face UC Santa Cruz and Stanford, and to San Diego to face a tough opponent, CSU San Marcos. The Division II team finished the season at home celebrating its 6 amazing seniors – Abheri Setlur, Kathleen Conley, Hope Jin, Tohko Furuta, Michelle Frid, and Alexa Crim. 

The team is already looking forward to getting back to practice next season and working hard to bring home even more wins during the regular season, playoffs, and nationals!