Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Nation’s Best Leaves Legacy of Leadership

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Former All-American attack Erin Elbe led the team to a No. 1 ranking.

A year ago, the Georgetown women’s lacrosse team had never had a No. 1 ranking; it had never had a Tewaaraton Trophy winner; it had never had a player like senior attack Erin Elbe.

Elbe (COL ’02) spent four years on the Hilltop littering the Georgetown record books with her name. She tops the books in career groundballs and ranks second in both career points and goals. In both of the latter categories, it is only her three-year teammate that kept her out of the top seat, Sheehan Stanwick (MSB ’01).

In fact, for much of her four years, Elbe was all but overshadowed by the presence of lacrosse phenom Sheehan Stanwick, elder sister to Hoya senior attack Wick Stanwick. Last year, however, Elbe took the spotlight on herself and led the Hoyas back to the national title game.

Elbe became a leader in every aspect of the game. In her senior season, the four-time All-American was named the National Attacker of the Year, Final Four All-Tournament team member and was selected to be a member of the elite U.S. National Team.

She led the team last year with 58 goals and 81 total points, and had 211 total goals and 291 points over four years. She delivered Georgetown its first ever No. 1 national ranking while collecting a 19-2 record overall. For her efforts she was named the top female collegiate lacrosse player in the nation at the end of last season.

Now, Georgetown enters its first season without such a dominating on-field presence, and it remains to be seen who will step into the leadership position. She was the top offensive presence for the Hoyas and a leader for the team on the field.

“You don’t replace players like Erin Elbe, like Sheehan Stanwick before her,” Head Coach Kim Simons said. “You figure out ways to fill that gap as best you can, and most times it takes more than one player. It’s the personality and the leadership that takes a lot of time to try to rebuild that. That’s where we are right now.”

The New York native graduated from Georgetown with a psychology major and sociology minor. The Hoyas will have a tough time replacing such a versatile on-field presence. How well they accomplish this goal will likely determine their success this season, which opens Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Virginia Tech at home on Kehoe Field.

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