FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University women’s lacrosse senior standout Jamie Brentlinger/Gambrills, Maryland has been named this week’s Longwood Female Athlete of the Week. The midfielder led the squad to a 14-11 victory against Big South Conference opponent Winthrop University on Mach 13 with a career-high six goals and seven total points. In the same outing, she added two ground balls, three draw control and one caused turnover. Later in the week, she contributed two assists, one ground ball and one draw control in the team’s 15-10 setback against New Hampshire on March 16. Through seven games, Brentlinger leads the Lancers with 18 goals and is second on the team with 26 total points.
Question and Answer Session with Jamie Brentlinger and Ashley Robbins
AR: Did you prepare any differently heading into your senior season?
JB: I know when Elaine (Jones, coach) came in, she went over our stats in the fall with us and she basically said ‘you’re an attacker and you have all these goals, but you don’t have as many assists.’ She wanted me to balance that out. She is very focused on stats and things like that. For example, as an attacker, you should have some cause turnovers and whatnot. I just focused on what she said in the meetings in the fall. This spring, I’ve really been trying to balance out my scoring with the assists, and having draw controls, ground balls and caused turnovers. I’m trying to be more of an overall threat, rather than just an attacking threat.
AR: Now that you are a senior, do you find yourself giving advice to the younger players?
JB: Yes, definitely. Even last year I did so. I have always felt like if I saw something I could just go up to one of my teammates and say something, but I know now a lot of the freshmen definitely look up to us upperclassmen, especially being a senior and a starter. They are always asking how they can get better, they even tell me things to do, so it is a really good give and take.
AR: What is it like getting to play in the Big South Conference for your senior season?
JB: It’s actually really exciting. When I was looking to come here, they had gotten into the [National Lacrosse Conference] and that was one of the deciding factors for me, the fact that I could have a championship season afterwards. Getting into the Big South and going to some of the Big South leadership conferences is really excited and I feel like since it’s our first year we have something to prove and I think we can really do it this year.
AR: What are your goals for this season?
Athlete: I would like to get on to one of the awards teams for the Big South at the end of the year and also just leave my imprint here at Longwood. Being a senior and being in the Big South, I want to kind of start a legacy for the underclassmen to live up to, especially since we were ranked third in preseason. I definitely think we can be the top one.
AR: What is your favorite thing about the Longwood Lacrosse program?
JB: How close our team is with one another. We’re constantly together and we’re each other’s best friends off the field. When you get here you instantly have 27 best friends. I think that’s different than most teams because at other places, you’re in your class and that’s it, but since my class is so small and has gone through so many changes, the fact that I had other teammates there to support me was probably the best.
AR: What is your favorite lacrosse memory so far?
JB: Probably beating Cal my sophomore year because we were the biggest underdogs. It was ranked as the biggest upset of the year on laxpower.com because we beat them 8-6. I remember almost everything about that game.
AR: What would be your best piece of advice for a young athlete?
JB: Just keep a balance between school work and athletics. I feel like people come in and are overwhelmed by how much lacrosse we play and the hours we put in, but I feel like here at Longwood the athletics department really helps you out, especially Mia (Ozery) and Michelle (Meadows) staying on top of study hall hours.
AR: Who is your favorite athlete and what is your favorite team?
JB: My favorite athlete was Mia Hamm, which is why I wear #9 now. Her whole world cup run and the team winning started a legacy for women in sports. My favorite team is the Baltimore Ravens.
AR: Why did you choose to pursue lacrosse over soccer?
JB: I always had more fun playing lacrosse. Both sports came kind of naturally, but lacrosse was always a lot more fun
AR: Do you have any role models?
JB: My dad. He went to play football at James Madison, so when I was growing up we always played sports. I was always doing my homework in the car, but my parents made sure I was staying on top of all my work, while going to games that were hours away. I had just seen how happy my dad was being in college and playing sports, so it was cool to follow in his footsteps and go to school to play a sport.
AR: Do you have any superstitions?
JB: I always like to print out quotes to put in my teammate lockers and post them around the team room. And then, I always have to put my right ankle brace on first and my right shoe on first. I always have to do certain things. I also tend to stay in the locker room before games getting focused, too, instead of being all over the place.
AR: Any interesting facts about yourself?
JB: This past summer I went and played lacrosse for a U.S. team in Amsterdam, so that was really fun.
