TOWSON, Md. ? Conference Player of the Year. CAA Champion. First team All-American. Captain.
In her first three seasons at Towson, senior midfielder Hillary Fratzke has earned all of these accolades. However, being selected as a member of the United States Women's Lacrosse Developmental Team is an honor and experience that Fratzke hopes to use to lead the Tigers into the defense of their Colonial Athletic Association championship.
“Being selected to the U.S. Developmental Team makes me want to work that much harder,” the Centreville, Md. native says. “If I could pass on my knowledge to the rest of the team, the differences people would see in our team would be unreal.”
Fratzke, a two-time All-American selection, led the Tigers to a 13-6 record last year and the team's second CAA title in four years. She became the first Tiger women's lacrosse player to be named as the CAA Player of the Year and a first team All-American.
But, this past summer while most college students were enjoying some down time, Fratzke was participating in a series of high-pressure tryouts for the two U.S. National Teams. Only 48 players are selected to either the Elite Team or Developmental Team and for Fratzke, it was an eye-opening experience.
“I have never played in a situation like that in my life where there is such a high level of pressure,” she says. “The pressure to play at your best is always there. You're moving at 150 miles per hour every time you step out on the field. Not only do you have to know what you are doing, but you also have to be in shape all time and run with everyone on the field.”
By scoring 62 goals with 24 assists last year, it was not hard for Fratzke to distinguish herself as one of the best college players in the nation. However, when playing alongside some of the top players in the world, the ability to separate yourself is much more difficult.
“It's a lot harder to distinguish yourself from everyone else,” says Fratzke. “You have to believe that you can do it just like everyone else and that is also one of the big pressures.”
According to the two-time co-captain, putting on the Team USA uniform is one of the best experiences a player can go through.
“You're representing your country and when you put the uniform on, you are pumped to be in the situation that you are in,” Fratzke says. “Even being on the sideline is such an amazing experience.”
With the Tigers' season drawing near, Fratzke knows that defending the CAA Championship is not an easy task, but she is confident that her teammates are ready for the challenge and the key to their success will be consistency.
“One of the biggest things we have on this team is consistency,” Fratzke says. “It's all about having the consistency to play at our ability at all times. Sometimes, there are games that you go into and people think you will be beaten, but you come out on top. Our game against William & Mary in the CAA Tournament last year is a good example of that after losing by one goal in the regular season. We came out and beat them for the title and it was because of our consistent team play.”
As the Tigers prepare for their season opener on March 1 at Mount St. Mary's, Fratzke says her goals are geared towards the team and that “I want to do whatever it takes to get as far as we can possibly go. It's all about the team.”
