Following the Billerica-Stonehill trail

By David Pevear, Lowell Sun

Kristyn Gramzow enrolled at Stonehill College feeling intimidated by its two-time national champion women's lacrosse program.

She remembered being a sophomore at Billerica High and going with her lacrosse teammates to watch Stonehill play. Two former Billerica High players, Brenna Newfell and Courtney Duggan, were at the time standout players for the Skyhawks.

"It was such an amazing game," recalls Gramzow. "I didn't think I could ever play on that team."

So as a freshman at Stonehill in the fall of 2005, Gramzow ran cross country with the intention of becoming a miler on the track team.

"But my body started breaking down from all that running," she says. "I never made it to a track meet."

Gramzow's body was telling her something.

"I think she missed lacrosse," says Stonehill coach Michael Daly.

"I missed it a lot," concurs Gramzow, a sophomore who this spring returned to the game she loves and became a first-team All-Northeast-10 Conference defender on a Stonehill team headed to the NCAA Div. 2 Final Four this weekend in Salem, Va.

Stonehill (18-1), which won Div. 2 national titles in 2003 and '05, will play C.W. Post (15-0) in the 2 p.m. national semifinal Saturday. West Chester (18-1) will play Lock Haven (16-3) at 11:30 a.m. The national title game Sunday at noon will be televised nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV).

Gramzow is intimidated no more. The biology major sounded more uneasy about her final exam in genetics this week than about any Final Four difficulties over the weekend.

"She plays with an extra fire in her belly that you can't coach or teach," says Daly. "She is a tenacious defender. The sky is the limit for her. She will be a dominant defender at this level."

Gramzow's return to lacrosse was not without its frustrations. The heart was willing. Her legs felt tangled.

"I remember doing a drill at the first tryout and feeling like I had never played before," she says.

Daly told Gramzow, whom he had considered only a "secondary recruit" coming out of Billerica, to relax and keep at it.

Day by day, Gramzow felt the game coming back to her.

"She's got that whatever-it-takes Billerica attitude," says Daly.

Like Newfell and Duggan before her, Gramzow became an all-conference player for Stonehill from Billerica.

She presents a determined obstacle in a talented Stonehill defense that has allowed 6.35 goals per game, which ranks third nationally, headed by sophomore Michelle Kelly, the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year.

Gramzow to date has 25 ground balls, 21 draw controls and 14 caused turnovers. She also has scored four goals and added one assist.

Over the nine years that women's lacrosse has been a Northeast-10 Conference sport, Stonehill has compiled an 81-1 record. The only conference loss was a 9-7 overtime loss to Bentley in April 2000.

Stonehill has won all nine NE-10 regular-season titles and eight straight league tournament titles. Despite graduating four All-Americans after last season, the Skyhawks are making their fifth trip to the NCAAs.

"Like most our young players, Kristyn's performance has exceeded our expectations," says Daly.

Stonehill's only loss this season was 7-5 at home on April 27 to C.W. Post, its opponent on Saturday. Daly felt his team on that day played as well as it could defensively against a team that "is basically a Division 1 team on offense."

"They're an amazing team, but we can hold them," says Gramzow. "We're not intimidated."

No, her days of being intimidated are over.