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NEWS RELEASE
 
Yellow Jackets Dominate 12th Annual National Draw
Long Island Based Organization Takes Varsity, Risers & Middlers Divisions; M&D Nabs JV
 
Annapolis, MD (July 6, 2011) - National Draw 2011 turned into a showcase for the talent and depth of the Yellow Jackets club program.  The Long Island-based organization captured three of four championships at the 12th annual tournament – an impressive accomplishment that had founder and owner Carol Rose beaming with pride.  “National Draw always attracts the top competition in the country so it is certainly a feather in our cap to win three titles this year,” Rose said.  “I’m extremely proud of the whole organization – players, coaches and parents. We work very, very hard to develop players and field strong teams so it’s nice to see those efforts rewarded.”
      
The Yellow Jackets were crowned champs in the Varsity, Risers and Middlers divisions.  Rose said the organization, which was founded in 1999 and now features 600 athletes and 26 teams, has won three titles at smaller tournaments, but never that many at a major event such as National Draw.  “This year’s tournament fields were all very strong so it is a real credit to those three teams to emerge as champions,” Rose said.  “There were some very close, competitive games along the way and our kids showed real determination to consistently come out on top.”
      
Rose was particularly proud that the Varsity Division championship game was between two Yellow Jackets entries as the 2012 squad defeated the 2013 contingent, 4-2.  It was a real breakthrough tourney for Yellow Jackets 2012 Blue, which has reached the semifinals or finals of numerous tournaments without coming away with a championship.  “It took us five years to do this,” exclaimed Paige Bonomi, a rising senior at Northport High who has committed to play collegiately for the fledgling program at USC.  “This group of girls has been together since 2007 and come close so many times.  To finally win an event, especially one the caliber of National Draw, was very rewarding.  All of the players were completely ecstatic,” Rose said. “This is their last summer together and almost all the players have picked colleges. They played relaxed because there is no longer any pressure.”
     
Goalkeepers Michaela Aymong (Northport High, Richmond University) and Chelsea Sidaras (William Floyd, Fairfield) anchored a stingy defense that held opponents to an average of four goals. Defender Stephanie Peragallo was outstanding in one-versus-one coverage and forced a slew of turnovers during the tournament as Yellow Jackets went 4-0 in round-robin play then 3-0 in the playoffs.  Lefty attack Jenna Fuchs (Garden City, Fairfield) scored several game-winning goals for Yellow Jackets, who knocked off defending champion M&D 2013 Black in the semifinals. Alex Bruno (Garden City, Princeton) dominated the draws while fellow midfielders Christina Esposito (West Babylon, Northwestern) and Catherine Dickinson (Garden City, Pennsylvania) showed tremendous heart and hustle while making on impact on ground balls and in the clearing game.
        
This year’s National Draw, held June 24-26 at Cherokee High in Marlton, N.J., attracted 4,827 athletes with 250 teams from throughout the United States. The tournament, organized and directed by Synapse Sports and sponsored by Gatorade and STX, has long set the standard on the women’s club lacrosse circuit.  “National Draw continues to live up to its enduring legacy as one of the finest club lacrosse tournaments in the country,” said Cathy Samaras, founder and CEO of Synapse Sports.  Following is a brief look at the other championship teams from the 2011 National Draw:
 
JUNIOR VARSITY: Goaltenders Rachel Ortell (Marriott’s Ridge High) and Cameron Baumgartner (Glenelg Country) anchored a suffocating defensive effort that lifted Howard County, MD based M&D 2014 Black to a 7-1 victory over Syracuse-based Relentless Hustle in the Junior Varsity final.  Julie LeGar (Garrison Forest), Amanda Miller (Mount de Sales), Kay Kelly (Centennial) and Alexis Zadjura (Marriott’s Ridge) formed a rock-solid defensive unit that played great containment and caused numerous turnovers.  Amanda Ignacio (Mount de Sales) was the finisher while fellow attacker Megan Whittle (McDonogh) served as playmaker for M&D, a group of rising sophomores that has been together since the sixth grade.  Stephanie Holmes (McDonogh) controlled the draws while fellow midfielder Taylor Hensh (Marriott’s Ridge) provided superb work between the lines as M&D went 7-0 in the tourney.
      
“This team goes 22 deep and I can substitute liberally without any drop off in play,” said Chris Robinson, founder of M&D and head coach of the 2014 squad.  “We played seven games in two days, including five on Sunday, so I think our depth was a huge factor. We were still fresh for the playoffs.”
 
RISERS:  Midfielders Emma Gallagher (Garden City) and Kasey Mitchell (Mount Sinai) led the way as Yellow Jackets 2015 Blue shut out M&D Black 2015 Black, 3-0, in the championship game of the Middle School bracket. Gallagher, one of the fastest players in the country for that age group, was a force in transition and scored two goals in the final. Mitchell, a true finisher, scored at least one goal in every game as Yellow Jackets went 7-0. 
 
Versatile, athletic midfielder Nikki Ortega (Middle Country) gobbled up ground balls and created for teammates while attacker Gabbi Labuskes (Northport) scored two goals to key a 6-0 shutout of Long Island rival Top Guns in the semifinals.  Fast, aggressive defender Sydney Pirreca ce (Mount Sinai) routinely shut down opponent’s top scoring threat and was also instrumental in the clearing game for a team that has won almost every tournament it has entered over the past three years.  “This is an intense group of girls that are on a mission,” Rose said. “They have great team chemistry and tremendous overall speed.”
 
MIDDLERS: Attacker Alex DiChiara along with midfielders Grace Shapiro and Ali Murphy displayed superb stickwork and provided most of the scoring as Yellow Jackets 2017 Blue defeated Hudson Valley, 10-3, in the finals of the Risers division.  Goalies Hannah Van Middlem and Sarah Reznick anchored a stout defense as Yellow Jackets limited opponents to an average of four goals in going 7-0 in the tournament. Defenders Devon Heaney and Taylor Gladd helped make it difficult for opposing offenses to get off quality shots.  “These girls play with a maturity beyond their years. They are a very unselfish group that knows how to move the ball and work together,” Coach Courtney Bertolone said. 

Re Risers Division, Score was I believe 3 - 1 and Nikki Ortega (Middle Country) scored 2 goals in Championship game, Not Emma Gallagher.

No mine found a college!! A very happy YJ parent.
I went with the odds. YJ is highly regarded by college coaches on the club circuit. The directors highly connected and visibly speaking too coaches on kids behalf. The 2011 class blue gold and green did very well. Again go with the odds and history of former players. Sure another team is always an option, but none of them compare to them yet.
You would be foolish to move.

No mine found a college!! A very happy YJ parent.
I went with the odds. YJ is highly regarded by college coaches on the club circuit. The directors highly connected and visibly speaking too coaches on kids behalf. The 2011 class blue gold and green did very well. Again go with the odds and history of former players. Sure another team is always an option, but none of them compare to them yet.
You would be foolish to move.

OBOY....PAY BABY PAY!!! GUESS WHAT, FOR 3/4 OF THE COST THERE ARE EXCELLENT PROGRAMS OUT THERE WHO REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PLAYERS AND HELPING THEM TO MOVE INTO COLLEGE. FOR FREE!!!

OBOY....PAY BABY PAY!!! GUESS WHAT, FOR 3/4 OF THE COST THERE ARE EXCELLENT PROGRAMS OUT THERE WHO REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PLAYERS AND HELPING THEM TO MOVE INTO COLLEGE. FOR FREE!!!

My non lacrosse playing daughter got 25K/per year academic scholarship to a D1 school, her best friend with the same EXACT SAT scores/GPA got a whopping 18K from same school to play D 1 sport. Friend had to go to school a month earlier than mine did for practices etc.
Friends parents spent quite a bit of cash over the years on travel teams/camps etc. They now said d would have been better to have gone in academically, and walked on. $7,000 x 4 years=(-)28,000 K + camps/travel
If your kid absolutely loves what he/she is doing, that is all that matters, but don't think scholarship money is there,

Just one of MANY other burned kids, so the MOST important thing is SAT/grades and don't think otherwise.

The 7,000 difference came from my daughter getting 25K a year versus her friend getting 18K a year. 25-18=7,000. So 7,000 x 4 years of college= 28k less than if this girl went in as a walk on plus all the money they spent on camps/tournaments plus traveling expenses over the years.

In other words my non lacrosse daughter came out 28 k ahead than this girl did.

There daughter loved her sport and Im sure enjoyed all the time playing, her parents said perhaps she should have just applied based on her SAT scores/grades and then walked on, they would have been 28K ahead.

Oh I see. The problem could arise as to whether or not a kid can walk on and some kids who dont have the GPA and/or SAT scores get in to some schools with the help of lax. That said, I have told my daughter to focus on academics first as they are the number one way to get into a school with or without a scholarship. We are done with YJ afte this season. We may look at other clubs because as you say my daughter loves to play, but i cannot alloow her to continue to play for an organization where the directors are down right arrogant.

OH WHAT PROGRAM iS THAT??

OH WHAT PROGRAM iS THAT??

Congrats to Yellow Jackets teams this weekend at Lax for the Cure
So far: Winning Championships: 2017 Blue, 2016 Blue, 2015 Blue, 2014 Blue Finalist. Still to play 2013 & 2012

parents of the YJs are fun to watch. It should be called the YJ elite cult, not elite club. As I watched my daughter's Maryland team soundly beat YJ blue, the sounds and actions of these strong islanders was something to see.

Cursing, screaming, jumping up and down, Dads wearing "fear the bee" shirts (yes, fathers), YJ kids playing dirty

the fact is these YJs teams may win games, but many of the parents and kids are rude, spoiled, terrible teammates, and will likely burn out in college or get kicked off their team.

In fact, I heard a big percentage of them who made all these great schools have either transferred, were asked to leave, or simply quit.

Recruiters beware!

Sincerely,

A Maryland Mom

Not a yj dad, my girls play for another quality li club. Just standing up for the girls that come from yjs. If u think recruiters should be warned away, you are out of your mind. As for the parents, you may be right on some teams, certainly not all. All clubs have a certain amount of "those" parents. Sadly, all it takes is one or two mouths to give the whole team, or in this case whole club, a bad rap. We have played many MD clubs with parents out of thier minds, but not all the teams are like that. Sad part of parents in lacrosse is the sideline antics and the cyber bullying that goes on on the internet. Bash the parents all you want, leave the kids alone and let them play.

My daughter is miserable on top gun
Playing time is a joke with this outfit!