The beginning of March marks the start of Women’s History Month: an international celebration of women around the world as well as their contributions and achievements. One area in particular that is deserving of recognition is that of women in the world of sports–a domain that is typically dominated by male athletes. Here at Fairfield, we have our fair share of high-achieving female athletes and coaches whose accomplishments have greatly contributed to putting Fairfield into the limelight when it comes to success in sports.
One majorly successful group is our women’s lacrosse team, who won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship last year after defeating Monmouth 14-11. These Stags clearly know their way around the field and are led by Coach Laura Field, who has been at Fairfield for the past eight years. This year they are starting out the season strong with a current record of 2-2, and are set to play the University of Vermont on March 4 at 12 p.m.
Women’s Swimming and Diving recently made a splash at the 2023 MAAC Championship where they clinched a win with 609 points along with Coach Jacy Dyer securing a women’s swimming coach of the year award. Across the board, our Stags dominated in breaststroke, relay and freestyle among others. This triumph marked the fourth championship win in the last five years for the Stags and is sure to be one of many more to come.
The women’s basketball team had an incredible victory last year after winning the MAAC Championship in 2022, bringing home the trophy for the first time since 2000 and allowing them to move on to the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship against the University of Texas at Austin. Despite a close loss, they showed incredible grit and determination, clearly leaving everything on the court while holding their heads up high. Now, they’re set as the number 5 seed for the upcoming championship on March 7-11, as they enter with a current 14-13 record. Now led by Coach Carly Thibault Dudonis, the Stags are ready to take on the challenges this new tournament will bring.
While these are certainly the most well-known teams on campus, it’s definitely not the extent of female student-athletes at Fairfield. There are many more female athletes across all other sports at Fairfield including volleyball, golf, field hockey, cross country, soccer, tennis and softball among others. We must continue to root for our peers as they push themselves and their teammates. They accomplish so much but often go under the radar. Therefore, this Women’s History Month takes a moment to celebrate your fellow female Stags who put the work in day in and day out and achieve incredible results.
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