For freshman Mercer lacrosse player Hailey Rhatigan, lacrosse has long been a family sport. Now that she’s a thousand miles away from home, finding a sense of a second family on the women’s lacrosse team has been integral to the success of her first season.
Rhatigan is currently the highest scorer on the Mercer Women’s Lacrosse team, with 46 goals in just 13 games.
“It’s cool coming in and being the highest scorer and working so hard for it,” Rhatigan said.
Rhatigan is originally from New York, but she chose Mercer not only because of the great coaching staff, but also the warm, Georgia weather.
“It’s really different,” Rhatigan said. “It was hard adjusting at first, but it has gotten easier now.”
Her dad grew up playing lacrosse and taught Hailey and her two brothers how to play the game from the moment they learned to walk. Her brother went on to play lacrosse at the collegiate level, and now Rhatigan is proud to be following in her brother’s footsteps.
“I remember my dad used to hold me on the sidelines and when he would go, he would give me to his friends and say ‘can you hold her?’ and then he would go and play,” Rhatigan said.
The women’s lacrosse team has a few games left in their season and are currently undefeated in the first two games of Southern Conference play. Rhatigan said that her goal for this season is for the team to remain undefeated in the SoCon action.
“We came in a little rocky,” Rhatigan said. “But I think we’ve been working so hard towards everything and we know how badly we want to win. So, we’re all coming to together and it’s working really well.”
When asked to reflect on this past season, the freshman said her favorite memories with the team are during their team bonding activities, whether they’re going bowling or doing arts and crafts together.
“Coming in and not knowing anyone and coming here, it’s kind of like having a second family,” Rhatigan said. “It’s good just knowing all these people and being close to them and the coaches being so supportive of everything we do.”
Rhatigan has definitely made her impact on the lacrosse team as a freshman scoring machine. Can Rhatigan and the defending-SoCon champion Bears repeat this season? Only time will tell.
After a high-scoring lacrosse season, Hailey Rhatigan is excited for the next three years
Hailey Rhatigan is a freshman on the Women's Lacrosse Team. She is a Midfeilder with a game high total of 14 shots on goal and 7 goals.
