FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University freshman women’s lacrosse standout Katie McHugh/Burke has been named this week’s Longwood Female Athlete of the Week. The rookie logged eight goals in two games for the Lancers last week. She found the back of the net three times in the squad’s 14-8 loss at Virginia Tech on April 10 before tallying five scores in a 21-8 victory at Presbyterian. McHugh, who also recently recorded a career-high six goals against Coastal Carolina on April 5 and was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on April 8, currently paces the team with 41 goals on the season and is third with 43 total points. After starting all 15 games so far, she has accumulated 18 ground balls, six draw controls and five caused turnovers, and is 4-for-9 on free position attempts.
Question and Answer Session with Katie McHugh and Ashley Robbins
AR: Talk about how you’ve been able to contribute so much to the offense as a rookie?
KM: Everyone really helped me a lot at the beginning. They helped me fit in right from the start and were 100% behind be every step I went. My coach, the older girls and everyone just helped build my confidence up to make me feel part of the team right away. I think that really helped me be able to contribute in the long run because they didn’t think of me as a freshman. They believed in me to handle the ball when times were tough, so that helped.
AR: What advice do you find yourself getting from the older players?
KM: Jamie (Brentlinger), a senior, helps me a lot with cutting, getting open, what to do and how to shoot. Lauren (Prasnicki) helps me with shooting and feeding all the time. We’ll go out on the field before practice all the time and before games to practice a little bit. Our coach advises us to do that. They definitely still help me all the time to shoot around or feed the ball in.
AR: What’s the biggest difference you see in the college game?
KM: It’s just so much faster. The game itself is so much faster. Everyone is also on the same page, where in high school, some kids want to be there and some don’t. This is everyone wants to win all the time. The practices are a lot more difficult than high school and we do a lot more drills. The time commitment itself is a lot more than high school.
AR: How do you feel you’re adjusting to the new level of play?
KM: I think I’m doing well with it. Study hall first semester definitely helped a lot. I got [on top of things] right away with the academics. Everyone here helps you out if you need help. The tutors definitely help me a lot. If you have to miss lacrosse for academics, coach always understands that and you can find out what you missed.
AR: What are your goals for the rest of the season, individually and as a team?
KM: We definitely want to win the Big South Championship. As a team, that’s our goal. For me personally, I want to help contribute more in transition and with assisting more.
AR: Why did you choose Longwood?
KM: I wanted to commit somewhere I could possibly play right away. I didn’t want to sit on the bench for years. When I came here for my visit, everyone was really welcoming. It looked like fun and it was a tight-knit team, which I was looking for. I just loved the campus and I liked the small community. Everyone seemed like they knew everyone. The teachers were very helpful and the small class sizes were big for me.
AR: What does it mean to you to get to play in the Big South?
KM: It was awesome finding that out. Moving to the Big South just gave us a million more advantages as a school and as a team. It gives us more fight to win that and the level of competition was big for us. We wanted to get to play against such good competition. It was awesome finding out we were going to get to play in the Big South.
AR: What advice would you give to a young athlete hoping to play Division I lacrosse?
KM: I would say practice everyday. Even outside of (team) practice, practicing won’t hurt the more you do it. Get out with older people and get close with them. They’ll tell you or show you what to do all the time. That’ll help you out in the long run, but just practicing all the time will help you.
AR: Do you have any role models?
KM: My mom and dad. My mom is a hard worker. She’s showed me how to fight through difficult situations and to work hard for what you want to work for, like being in the starting line up or to get in the game. That’s definitely helped me a lot because I’ve been working hard to play for this team. I know my parents are both very proud of me and they are definitely my role models.
AR: Who is your favorite athlete and what is your favorite professional team?
KM: My favorite athlete is Derek Jeter and my favorite team is the Yankees. My family is from New York and I’ve just been brought up to love the Yankees. I was always #2 in high school because of Derek Jeter. I definitely watch the Yankees all the time to keep up with him.
