By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Junior Charis Krouscas is the all-time Blacksburg High School girls’ lacrosse leader in goals (164), caused turnovers (65), ground balls (125), draw controls (248) and points (219). She recently announced her commitment to play at the next level with the Atlantic Coast Conference’s (ACC) Louisville Cardinals.
She knew early on she wanted to play in the ACC. “It’s one of the best conferences for lacrosse. Additionally, I loved the idea of playing at a school where the athletics were so good across the board.”
Krouscas was named first-team all-district, all-region and second team all-state for both her freshman and sophomore years.
“Ultimately, it was the connections I made with the coaches and girls on the team (at Louisville) that really sealed my decision. I felt as though I clicked with the girls immediately, and it also seemed like they were super close which was exactly what I wanted. They treated each other like family, not just teammates. On top of this, I felt as though Louisville prioritized and represented the lacrosse program well, which is not common at a lot of schools,” she said.
Louisville finished this season with a 6-9 overall record, 2-8 in the ACC. Scott Teeter just finished his ninth year as head coach of the University of Louisville women’s lacrosse team.
When addressing the early decision, Krouscas points out for lacrosse, the recruitment window (the time when coaches are allowed to reach out) opens on September 1 of player’s junior year, but the recruiting process really starts a year before, working to get your name on coaches’ radars.
“Because of this, a lot of college coaches want to finish their recruiting class and begin working on the next as soon as possible. That being said, the majority of division 1 lacrosse recruits commit early in their junior year. I had 25 schools reach out midnight of September 1, so I had no clue how long my recruiting process would take, but as soon as I finished my visit at Louisville, I knew it was where I wanted to go and I committed September 7,” she said.
Committing that early, according to the Blacksburg lacrosse leader, definitely takes stress out of senior year because her application process will be a lot easier. “But it’s hard having to wait so long when I know where I’m going and I’m so excited,” she said.
In college, she hopes to be a four-year starter, make the all-ACC team and eventually be a captain.
Krouscas plans to major in business or political science with the hopes of pursuing law school after college.
