Credit: Charles Harrington/University Photography

To complement their hard work and rise in status and performance, the team recently received striking new uniforms, the result of a collaborative effort between the team's coach, Jenny Graap, team members, and a special donation from one of the biggest brand names in fashion.

Graap, the much-acclaimed coach of the women's lacrosse team since 1998, graduated from Cornell in 1986 with a degree in textiles and apparel design. Her spirited participation in lacrosse at Cornell as an undergraduate -- she was a regional All-American -- is a contributing factor in her current passion for the Big Red and her understanding of the intricacies of the sport. Under Graap, the women's team has been molded into a tight-knit unit.

"The Cornell women's lacrosse team has been successful since my first season in 1998, and we get better every year" said Graap. "If you look at the records of women's lacrosse here before 1997, you will see that wins were few and far between."

The lacrosse team under Graap started with a 7-7 record in 1998 (including three Ivy League wins), following two years in which they had no Ivy League wins, increased to 9-6 in 1999 (with stiffer competition), and last year was 13-4 with an ECAC championship. This year, led by co-captains senior Sarah McGoey and junior Ginny Miles, the team is 11-3 and has earned its first NCAA tournament bid, playing at Princeton University today, May 10. Cornell is ranked No. 12, and Princeton is ranked No. 5.

But the most visible recent change is the team's new look. Using her expertise in apparel design, Graap worked with the DKNY Active designers to fashion the team's stylish new uniforms. The project evolved from an informal conversation between Graap and Paul Charron, the father of Ashley Charron (a freshman goalkeeper for the team) and the chairman and CEO of Liz Claiborne, which holds exclusive licenses to design, produce, market and sell DKNY sportswear.

"Conversations with Coach Graap stimulated the idea for a collaboration between our company and the team on which my daughter plays," said Charron.

The uniform design was a combination of ideas between Graap, the team and the professional DKNY staff. Charron said he looked at the project as an important step toward recognizing and rewarding the talent and devotion of the team. "In addition to feeling good about the way they play, with only a little help, we can make them feel good about the way they look on the field," he said.

Mission accomplished, said Ashley Charron. "We are a very talented, up-and-coming program, rapidly entering the national spotlight of collegiate women's lacrosse. It is nice to do so well in games and look so fashionable while doing it."

Erica Holveck, a sophomore government major who earned a starting role in her first year on the squad, traveled with Graap to DKNY in New York City, where Holveck served as a model for the new uniforms, helping out with design ideas along the way. When asked how the uniforms might help the team, Holveck said, "I think that they make us look really fired up and intimidating. ... There is a lot of black and red and we just stand out."

But nothing fits these women better than success.

"Four years ago, Cornell lacrosse was not a big name in the sport," said Holveck. "Now we have a great record, and we're beating teams we've never beaten in the past. I just love being part of the excitement