March 13, 2009

From Lehigh Sports Media Relations

The two of them entered Lehigh as eager freshmen with high expectations for themselves. Now in their senior year, Sarah Fudin and Tess McGrath are co-captains of the women's lacrosse team and two of the major pieces that have helped elevate the success of the program. "These two have been very key in helping to change the culture of the program," Mountain Hawks head coach Jill Redfern explains. "They are both willing to put in the effort and have high expectations of themselves and everyone in the program."

Fudin and McGrath came to Lehigh from Bethlehem Central High School in New York, a powerhouse in girl's lacrosse that won sectional titles and was ranked in the top-four of the state every year the current Mountain Hawks were there. Playing versus that type of competition allowed Fudin and McGrath to transition to Division I lacrosse with relative ease.

Both girls were drawn to Lehigh because of its small size, strong academics and the opportunity to play Division I lacrosse. The chance to take the Mountain Hawks program to a new level and serve as the cornerstone for that growth was also highly attractive. "(Former) Coach (Liz) Ota spoke about rebuilding the program and elevating it to the next level, so that was very exciting to hear," McGrath explains. "We knew with the success we had in high school that we could have an opportunity to play right away at Lehigh and that is what any player wants to hear," Fudin adds.

She continued, "There was a lot of change with the coaching staff before we got to Lehigh, so Coach Ota made it a point that our class would be her first one, and would begin to change the culture of the program."

Fudin entered the College of Arts and Sciences when she first came to Lehigh, but soon after moved into the College of Business, where she eventually decided she would use her creative abilities and settled upon Marketing as her major. McGrath meanwhile began in the College of Business and after taking several courses in Accounting, decided that was the major for her.

The adjustment to collegiate academics and athletics is never easy, but for McGrath and Fudin, they leaned on one another to help ease the transition. The pair of seniors has known one another since middle school and has remained friends throughout the years. "There was definitely a transition period (when I first got to Lehigh)," explained Fudin. "But it was nice to have Tess with me through it all. We could relate to each other because we were going through the same thing and took the same types of steps to get here."

On the field, McGrath and Fudin enjoyed immediate success, starting nearly every game during their freshmen season. Fudin finished with 21 ground balls and quickly emerged as one of the Mountain Hawks strongest defenders, while McGrath totaled 11 points, which included four goals and seven points.

The next year that pair helped lead the Brown and White to a berth in the Patriot League Tournament and its most wins since the 2003 season. Fudin was named to the All-Patriot League team, while both Mountain Hawks earned spots on the All-Tournament team. In 2008, Lehigh earned yet another berth to the PL Tournament and won its most games in five years. Fudin again was named to the All-Patriot League Team and McGrath led the Mountain Hawks in draw controls, while totaling 13 points. Fudin and McGrath have also achieved success in the classroom as they both maintain grade point averages over 3.40 and are multi-year members of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

"Sarah is all business, on and off the field," says Redfern. "She has very high expectations for herself and her teammates, and is very intense in the way she goes about things." She continues, "Tess will do whatever is asked of her. She is the ultimate teammate and very unselfish. They both lead in their own way and it's a nice balance between the two of them."

Lehigh's Sarah Fudin

When asked to describe one another, McGrath says that Fudin is dedicated to everything she does, whether its academics or lacrosse. "Sarah is a great leader who treats everyone with respect." Fudin says that McGrath is hardworking and very determined. "Tess is so easy to talk to and she's well-rounded, combining academics, athletics and social life."

These leadership traits were on display during the summer of 2008 when Ota suddenly stepped down from the head coaching position. "I was in complete shock," Fudin explains. "We were all wondering what direction the program would head in and who our new coach would be."

McGrath and Fudin did all they could to keep the team upbeat and assure the newest Mountain Hawks that the program would not suffer any kind of drop off. Those thoughts were confirmed when Redfern was named the program's new head coach in late June. "We were all thrilled when we heard Coach Redfern would be our new coach," says McGrath. "It's great to have her because she has been with the program as long as we've been here, we know one another and we have high expectations."

Following their final season in the Brown and White, the pair of New York natives will take different paths. McGrath will attend the University of Delaware to pursue her master's degree in accounting, while Fudin's next stop after may take her to England where she would play and coach lacrosse through a program called English Lacrosse. She is also looking into exploring several internships in New York City.

"I'll look back and remember the role we played in helping to build the program to where it is now," Fudin says. "I'm going to miss the relationships I've built with my teammates, both past and current." McGrath echoes those comments. "There was definitely a transition when we first came here, but it feels good to know we have been part of the growth that the program has gone through."