Syracuse first joined the Big East conference in 2001, and won the conference’s first two tournaments in 2007 and 2008.

But Syracuse came up empty in each of the four conference tournaments since then. Now in its final season as a Big East member, the Orange wants to leave the league on top.

Badly.

“So badly, especially me because I’ve been here four years and I haven’t gotten a title yet,” said Syracuse senior attack Michelle Tumolo. “But I just think that it’s do-or-die with this one because it’s the last. It’s the end of an era.”

The Orange, one of many teams that announced it will be switching conferences in the near future, will join the Atlantic Coast Conference on July 1. Five of the nine current Big East women’s lacrosse teams – Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Loyola (Md.) – have announced their departures. In addition to the team’s competitiveness, the mere fact that this is the last shot at a Big East title serves as extra motivation for the No. 6 Orange (3-2).

Amid the chaos of programs shuffling between conferences, Syracuse head coach Gary Gait sees a positive for college lacrosse. Perhaps college football and basketball have much to do with the decision to switch conferences – “It’s all that,” Gait interjected with a laugh – but the head coach believes NCAA lacrosse is still on the rise.

“I think it’s going to be great for college lacrosse because you’re going to see these schools that are improving their resources for their athletic departments, that’s going to trickle down to the lacrosse programs,” Gait said. “And some of these conferences are going to turn into some great lacrosse conferences, and hopefully, they’ll get the added support of this realignment.”

Syracuse midfielder Katie Webster said the ACC has always been regarded as a strong conference, so she sees the move as “a huge opportunity for Syracuse lacrosse.” Four of the ACC’s six current teams currently rank in the top 10. Maryland’s 10 national titles are the most in women’s lacrosse, and North Carolina, Duke and Virginia are typically elite programs.

“We’re going into one of the best conferences in lacrosse,” Tumolo said, “so I think it’ll be good because the competition might be a lot better.”

This season, SU defender Natalie Glanell said, a number of different reasons provide the Orange motivation to go out and practice every day and “work harder than any other team.” The team’s drive to leave the Big East as conference champions, along with last year’s loss in the national championship to Northwestern and the past failures in the league tournament, inspire the Orange to thrive this season.

To further challenge Syracuse this year, Gait put together a demanding nonconference schedule, a slate the Orange is enduring now. Syracuse played top-10 teams in three consecutive weeks when it took on Maryland, Virginia and Florida.

The Orange hopes the early-season tests will prepare it for Big East play, which starts against Connecticut on Friday. Syracuse believes it has the weapons necessary to dominate the conference, and expects nothing less of itself.

“I hope they come to our field and be like, ‘Crap, we have to play them,’” Tumolo said.

As SU’s Big East tenure winds down, its women’s lacrosse team might just have the best chance of any women’s team of winning a conference title before closing the door on the Big East and opening the door to the ACC.

“I think when people do look at the Big East, Syracuse is already a known name,” Glanell said. “I’m excited to say when I grow up, ‘You know, I played in the Big East – and the ACC.’ (The Big East) is where all of our hearts are. And it’d be even cooler to say that we left and won a championship.”

Published on March 20, 2013 at 1:37 am

Contact Phil: pmdabbra@syr.edu | @PhilDAbb