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Thriving Through Sport

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THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT ON GIRLS’ MENTAL HEALTH

Women’s Sports Foundation

This new report examines the relationship between girls’ sport participation and mental health. The data provides strong evidence that in high quality sport settings, playing sports can help lower depression and anxiety and enhance peer relationships and meaning and purpose. The study helps to identify the aspects of the sport setting that drive these outcomes, including levels of autonomy, coach relationships and more. The report also explores the unique qualities of sport relative to other extracurricular activities as well as the connection between them. Findings from the report are integrated into policy and practice recommendations that demonstrate how they can be applied in the field.

Thriving Through Sport Executive Summary

Report Data Highlights

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Bianca Bustamante finishes P2 at F1 Academy Miami Race 2

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By: Hans Carbonilla – The inquirer

Filipino American and McLaren development driver Bianca Bustamante fought her way from the back of the grid to a points-scoring position despite encountering multiple setbacks during the F1 Academy Miami round, but her fighting spirit brought her to the podium finish at the end of Race 2.

The young racer’s bid for a podium finish in Race 1 was dashed when she fell victim to a late start due to a technical error, dropping her from a promising P4 qualifying result to P16.But the first Filipina driver at McLaren’s tenacity shone through as she clawed her way through the field, eventually breaking into the points territory by lap six of the intense 13-lap race.

In an Instagram post shared by McLaren, they wrote “She never backed down. She never gave up. Great comeback drive to the points, [Racer Bia],” to which the racer herself replied, “We were the fastest car on track. Sorry everyone for the mistake, we’ll fight for the win tomorrow.”

However, her hopes of further advancement were marred by a five-second penalty for cutting a chicane to gain an advantage, relegating her P7 finish to P9 post-penalties.

Nevertheless, her recovery drive from last position to the points-scoring field earned her the accolade of the fastest lap, adding an extra point to her tally. With three points garnered from the race, Bustamante currently sits seventh in the driver standings with a total of 21 points.

Meanwhile, Alpine-sponsored Abbi Pulling, who started on pole, clinched victory in Race 1.

Despite the setbacks faced in Race 1, Bustamante remained undeterred as she tackled Race 2 confidently and strongly, finishing at P2.

She posted a photo with Lando Norris on her social media account, with a caption, “Just absolutely speechless. Such a high.”

“An amazing weekend for the team @mclaren! Our very first @f1academy podium is finally a reality, mega thank you to @artgp_official for an amazing car,” she continued. “They were faultless this weekend, so much more to work and show for the rest of the season. Let’s keep growing.”

With her determination and resilience on full display, all eyes are on Bustamante as she continues her quest for success in the F1 Academy 2024 season.

Noelle Lambert Is Setting Records Less Than Three Months Into Her Long-Jumping Career

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by Steve Drumwright | US Para TF

Noelle Lambert was already a world-class Para sprinter when she got the idea to try something new.

Before the start of the 2024 track season, Lambert decided to train as a long jumper. If all went well, she reasoned, maybe she could make her second Paralympics this summer as both a sprinter and a jumper.

So far, that’s looking good

When she participated in the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in March, Lambert had only been training for the long jump for less than three months.

The 27-year-old from Manchester, New Hampshire, set an Americas record in the event’s T63 class with a jump of 4.75 meters — breaking the previous record by 0.65 meters.

Now imagine what she can do with a little more practice in a Paralympic year.

“I have a great coach, coach Kris Mack, out here in California,” Lambert said during nationals. “I knew if I was going to start long jumping, I needed to go to him because he’s the best. It’s been incredible to see my progress.”

Lambert went on to call coach Mack a “genius” for the way he’s been able to adapt her to the new event so quickly.

Lambert’s record-breaking jump would have been good enough for fourth place at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, just 0.27 meters away from the podium.

She is seeking a return to the Paralympics after finishing sixth in the 100-meter T63 in Tokyo. At nationals, Lindi Marcusen edged out Lambert in the 100 by three-hundredths of a second. While that would be a tough loss for some, the race pumped up Lambert.

“It was just really exciting to kind of get the competition aspect with her,” said Lambert, who still clocked a personal-best time of 15.25 seconds. “I PR’d and came home with silver. So that’s a good day in the office and I was separated by .03. That just makes it more exciting. It’s showing that the T63 women are growing and we’re ready for the competition.”

Lambert has embraced competition all her life. She grew up with three older brothers and wanted to beat them in everything.

“From a very early age, I was always competing with them, showing them who the boss in the family was, who the best athlete in the family was,” Lambert said. “I think I’ve taken that belt.”

That competitive drive helped her adapt after losing her left leg in a moped accident in 2016.

“I never went a day in my life without being active in some sort of way,” she said. “I’m the type of person that if I hit a roadblock, I typically just want to run right through it and to prove to people that it won’t slow me down and that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

Lambert didn’t get back into her active lifestyle alone, though. Before her amputation, she played lacrosse at  UMass Lowell. While Lambert was convinced her lacrosse career was over, she said her teammates and coaches were determined to get her back on the field.

Less than two years after losing her leg, Lambert became the first above-the-knee amputee to ever play Division I college lacrosse.

“I credit that solely to my teammates and coaches,” Lambert said. “Because if it was up to me, I would have quit day one. It just shows how special a whole community can be.”

Lambert has continued to make more history since then. In 2022, she was a contestant in season 43 of Survivor, making her the first above-the-knee amputee to appear on the show.

Lambert will continue her long jump training with her eyes set on the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Track & Field set for July 18-20 in Miramar, Florida, where she hopes to secure a spot in another Paralympics.

While Lambert had quick success in the long jump at nationals, Mack reminded her that she’s still very early into what could be a long journey.

“I wanted to jump 4.80, 4.90, and (Mack) was just like, ‘You’re still learning. You’re still very early (in this process),’” she said. “I’m a very impatient person. I want things done now, but you know, I’m trusting the process and really enjoying it as well.”

Paris 2024: Introduction to Para judo

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BY: paralympics

Welcome to week 10 of Paris 2024 Paralympic Sport Weeks. This week, everything you need to know about Para judo.

Para judo is a sport contested by athletes with vision impairments. There will be up to 148 athletes from around the world competing in 16 medal events at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, which will open on 28 August.

Brief history of Para judo

Judo is a martial art that originated in Japan in the late 19th century.

Para judo was introduced to the Paralympic Games at Seoul 1988. Great Britain’s Simon Jackson became the first Paralympic judo champion after he won the men’s -60kg division, while Japan won four of the six gold medals up for grabs in the Republic of Korea.

Two female judo athletes in action at Athens 2008.
Women’s events were added to the sports programme at Athens 2008. @Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

Six women’s events were added to the Paralympic sports programme at Athens 2004, where 118 athletes from 30 nations competed in 13 medal events. France’s Karima Medjeded became the first female Para judo gold medallist.

Japan, the birthplace of judo, is the most successful nation at the Paralympics. The country has won more than 30 medals in Para judo, including 12 golds.

Male Para judo athletes in action at Sydney 2000
Japan’s Satoshi Fujimoto won five medals from 1996 to 2016. @Jamie Squire/ALLSPORT

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What to watch in Para judo 

In Para judo, athletes use their sense of touch to “feel” their opponent’s intention. The grip, breathing and body movements trigger their instincts to throw, pin, or lock their opponent during a match, which lasts up to four minutes.

In Para judo, athletes compete in J1 or J2 classes.

In J1, athletes may have varying degrees of vision impairment, from some vision to fully blind. They wear a red circle to let others know that they may need guided support before, during and after a match. J2 athletes are partially sighted.

Two male judokas grapple during competition at London 2012.
At Paris 2024, athletes will compete in J1 or J2 classes. @Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

Athletes start a match by gripping their opponents’ uniform, known as a ‘judogi’. The quickest way to victory is to score one maximum point, called ‘ippon’, by throwing their opponent on their back, pinning them for 20 seconds, or by arm lock or choke submission.

If ippon is not achieved, athletes can win with the highest score through ‘waza-ari’ (half point) or other minor points.

If a match is tied, judokas enter Golden Score. The first athlete to get any points wins the match.

Alana Maldonado in action during the Tokyo 2020 final
Paris 2024 will feature 16 medal events in Para judo. @Getty Images

Top Paralympic moments 

Over the years, there have been many memorable moments at the Paralympic Games.

At Beijing 2008, Brazil’s Antonio Tenorio topped the podium in the men’s -100kg division and became the first Para judoka to win gold at four Paralympic Games in a row. He went on to win bronze at London 2012 and silver at Rio 2016.

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Sandrine Martinet of France shot to stardom at Rio 2016. After finishing fifth at London 2012 and second at Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004, she topped the podium by beating two-time Paralympic champion Ramona Brussig of Germany in the women’s -52kg final.

Five years later, judo returned to its spiritual home as the Nippon Budokan received athletes from across the world at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Twenty-two countries claimed at least one medal.

Azerbaijan finished atop the Para judo medals table, winning six out of a possible 13 gold medals. Shahana Hajiyeva started the gold rush by topping the podium in the women’s -48kg division on the first day of competition.

Shahana Hajiyeva of Azerbaijan
Hajiyeva beat defending champion Sandrine Martinet of France at Tokyo 2020. @OIS/Joe Toth

Paris 2024 programme 

Men’s events 

-60kg J1 

-73kg J1 

-90kg J1 

+90kg J1 

-60kg J2 

-73kg J2 

-90kg J2 

+90kg J2

Women’s events

-48kg J1 

-57kg J1 

-70kg J1 

+70kg J1 

-48kg J2 

-57kg J2 

-70kg J2 

+70kg J2 

Paris 2024 venue 

The Champ de Mars Arena will stage Para judo and wheelchair rugby competitions at Paris 2024. It is a 10,000 sqm building in the centre of Paris currently known as the Grand Palais Overlay.  

Designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, this beautiful venue, built with sustainable materials, was created to host art, fashion and sports events. 

Paris 2024 Look of the Games featuring Champ de Mars Arena
Para judo competition will take place at the Champ de Mars Arena. @Paris 2024

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.

SPRINTS SHINE AT WINDY USATF BERMUDA GRAND PRIX

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DEVONSHIRE, Bermuda — Back for its third year, a windy afternoon at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix produced some quick early-season times in the sprints, highlighted by Tamari Davis’ and Noah Lyles’ wins in the 100s.
 
Defending the crown she won last year, Tamari Davis cruised to an easy 11.04w (+2.2) in the Xfinity Women’s 100, winning by almost a quarter-second over Kortnei Johnson, who was the runner-up in 11.27w.
 
Six-time world champion Noah Lyles was looking for a win in the Xfinity Men’s 100 following his runner-up finish at Bermuda last year. With a +3.0 wind, Lyles clocked a 9.96 for a decisive win at Flora Duffy Stadium with impressive closing speed in the final 10 meters. Canada’s Aaron Brown was second with a 10.09w, with a trio of Americans right behind. Pjai Austin clocked a 10.10w for third, while Kendal Williams and JT Smith both notched 10.11w times. Williams got the nod with a 10.103 to Smith’s 10.105.
 
Despite clipping the seventh barrier and clattering the final hurdle, Amber Hughes was a convincing victor in the women’s 100H, clocking 12.57w with a healthy +3.7 wind. It was the fastest time of Hughes’ career, windy or not, and put her .23 in front of runner-up Ebony Morrison of Liberia.
 
Back from injury late in the 2023 season, Abby Steiner opened her season strong with a successfully defended USATF Bermuda Grand Prix 200 title with a 22.71w. Kynnedy Flannel clocked a 23.01w for second with Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore in third with a 23.12w.
 
A windy day produced some big marks in the women’s long jump for Monae’ Nichols. Her best jump came in the second round, but her 6.91w/22-8 proved untouchable for the rest of the competition. Jamaica’s Chanice Porter landed a 6.62w/21-8.75 in the third round, which stood through the competition for second. Jasmine Moore finished third with a 6.60w/21-8 in the third round while Tiffany Flynn was fourth with a 6.53w/21-5.25.
 
A surprise winner in 2023, Elijah Morrow again ran a very good turn and was a half-step ahead coming into the straight, but Matthew Boling and Trinidad’s Jereem Richards took over from there, with Richards gaining a slight advantage in the final meters to win in a very windy (+4.9) 20.39w over Boling’s 20.42w. Morrow ended up fourth in 20.62w.
 
Overcoming a substantial early lead by Cassandra Tate, Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon pulled away after the final barrier to win the women’s 400 hurdles in 56.59. Tate held on for second in 57.04. In the women’s 800, Britain’s Hannah Segrave eased by Sadi Henderson to win by .1 seconds in 2:06.00. Kendra Coleman was third in a season best 2:06.58.
 
Slowed by crashing through most of the ten barriers in the men’s 110 hurdles, Louis Rollins yielded the lead to Britain’s Josh Zeller over the final half of the race as Zeller came away with a wind-aided (+3.5) 13.35 to win. Rollins fought his way to the finish and placed second in 13.45w.
 
Riding the hefty breezes on the runway just in front of the stands, Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion for Arkansas last year, bounded out to 17.33w/56-10.25 on his first attempt to open his season with a win in the men’s triple jump. Nine-time U.S. champion Donald Scott went 16.72w/54-10.25 on his fifth try to place fourth.
 
Grenada’s Kirani James has won a passel of global medals in the men’s 400, including Olympic gold in 2012 as a teenager, and he showed great maturity in winning his specialty event in 45.96. Battling the strong headwind down the backstretch, James was able to summon reserve energy down the home straight and win by more than a second. Elija Godwin was in contention coming off the final bend but fell back to fourth in 47.38. In the women’s one-lapper, Jamaica’s Stacey-Ann Williams was never seriously challenged as she won in 51.71.
 
Victor Palumbo took the early lead in the men’s 1500 and led through three laps but couldn’t hold off a major kick by Canadian duo Rob Heppenstall and Max Davies. The pair made their move from the back of the pack to finish first and second in 3:53.07 and 3:53.96. Jaxson Hoey was close behind, finishing third in 3:54.86.
 
Stacey-Ann Williams of Jamaica took a decisive win in the women’s 400. Williams clocked a 51.71 – 1.29 seconds faster than her nearest competitor, Jessika Gbai of the Ivory Coast. Courtney Okolo was seventh in 54.77.

Ball magnet: Pies great makes history on Anzac Day stage

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By Martin Smith | AFL

COLLINGWOOD legend Scott Pendlebury has notched up his 10,000th career disposal in front of a sold-out MCG crowd on Thursday, extending his lead as the most prolific ball-winner in VFL/AFL history. Pendlebury started the day just four possessions short of the 10,000 mark and brought up the milestone during the first quarter of the traditional Anzac Day game against Essendon with a handball in the defensive 50 to help repel another Bombers attacking move.

Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury receives an ovation after becoming the first VFL/AFL player to reach 10,000 career disposals The moment was acknowledged with warm applause from the huge MCG crowd. In a neat piece of symmetry, Pendlebury’s tally of 10,000 was made up of 5,003 handballs and 4,997 kicks. Pendlebury was within reach of the milestone in Collingwood’s past two games, but was subbed out of matches against Hawthorn (after six touches) and Port Adelaide (after 18 disposals). Scott Pendlebury kicks the ball during Collingwood’s clash against Port Adelaide in round six, 2024.

Last year, Pendlebury moved past the all-time VFL/AFL record of most career disposals that had belonged to St Kilda great Robert Harvey. Among current players, only Port Adelaide veteran Travis Boak has had more than 8000 career disposals. Scott Pendlebury is tackled by Lachie Neale during the R3 match between Collingwood and Brisbane at the Gabba on March 28, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos More history awaits the Pies legend this season, provided he can stay on the park. Only five men have ever made it to the magical 400-game milestone and Pendlebury could make it six by the end of the year. Having played 25 games in 2023, Pendlebury could reach the milestone as early as the Pies’ round 18 game against Geelong. And should the Pies manage to surge into September again and their former skipper stay fit, he could well finish the season in third place given Dustin Fletcher (400 games), Kevin Bartlett (403) and Shaun Burgoyne (407) are all within reach.

Beyond that trio, only Brent Harvey (432) and Michael Tuck (426) would stand ahead of him. Most career disposals 9,996 – Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood, 2006-2024) 9,656 – Robert Harvey (St Kilda, 1988-2008) 9,213 – Brent Harvey (North Melbourne, 1996-2016) 9,151 – Kevin Bartlett (Richmond, 1965-1983) 8,896 – Gary Ablett jnr (Geelong & Gold Coast, 2002-2020)

LPGA Tour star Nelly Korda joins elite company with 5th straight win

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 By Scott Thompson Fox News

While Scottie Scheffler is wreaking havoc on the PGA Tour, Nelly Korda is doing the exact same on the LPGA Tour. 

Korda won the Chevron Championship on Sunday, the year’s first major on the LPGA Tour, and it marked her fifth straight victory. 

Korda, 25, joined Annika Sorestam and Nancy Lopez as the only members on Tour who have won five consecutive events. It was also Korda’s second career major victory, having won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021. 

“It’s been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here,” Korda said, via ESPN.

Korda was able to hoist the Chevron Championship trophy after birdying the par-5 18th hole at Carlton Woods in Texas. She beat out Maja Stark, who birdied her final two holes to pull within one stroke of Korda.

Korda’s 13-under performance for the tournament had several highlights, too, including a chip-in birdie on the par-4 10th hole in her final round that left the crowd roaring. 

With the victory, Korda won $1.2 million from the $7.9 million purse for the major. She has now earned $2,424,216 this year. 

There was a time where Korda wasn’t sure when she’d be back on a golf course, as she dealt with a blood clot that required surgery in 2022. 

“Because obviously then I was just more scared for my health,” she said. “Competing was kind of on the back seat. I was not thinking about competing at all. But I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today.”

She’s the world No. 1 women’s golfer and miraculously hasn’t lost an event since January. 

Next week, though, Korda isn’t going to make it six in a row, as she announced her withdrawal from the JM Eagle LA Championship. 

“It was not an easy decision. After the unbelievable week at The Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted,” she explained. “With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”

Helen Maroulis makes record third Olympic team

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STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania — Helen Maroulis, the first U.S. female wrestler to win Olympic gold, will this summer become the oldest U.S. woman to wrestle at an Olympics and the first to wrestle at three Games.

Maroulis, 32, headlines the first 13 members of the Olympic wrestling team, decided at trials on Saturday at Penn State University.

She’ll be joined in Paris by veterans, including fellow 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder, and newcomers, including 20-year-old world champion Amit Elor, who was one day too young to compete at the last trials and will become the youngest U.S. Olympic female wrestler in history.

Missing the team: Tokyo Olympic gold medalist David Taylor, who lost to NCAA Wrestler of the Year Aaron Brooks; six-time world champion Adeline Gray, who lost to Kennedy Blades, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, who was eliminated on the trials’ first day Friday.

Maroulis swept two-time world medalist Jacarra Winchester in their best-of-three series Saturday to earn the Olympic spot at 57kg.

Maroulis was last beaten for a spot on the national team at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Since, she won four gold, two silver and three bronze medals between the Olympics and world championships, including that breakthrough Olympic title in 2016.

She briefly retired in 2019 due to concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder, then came back to win Olympic bronze in Tokyo and a world medal of every color the last three years.

“I was giving my dad a hard time because, two years ago, he said, ‘Hey, no more medals. Just retire. Get married. Have kids,’” Maroulis said. “I was like, ‘Let me go one more, dad.’”

Leading into these trials, Maroulis said she was in a car accident and dealt with a two-week “deep sickness.”

Snyder, 28, swept Isaac Trumble to make his third Olympic team. Snyder won a 97kg medal at each of the last nine global championships (Olympics/worlds), including becoming the youngest U.S. wrestler to win Olympic gold eight years ago.

“I always say I feel like I’m just getting started,” said Snyder, a former Ohio State Buckeye who has trained at Penn State since 2019. “I don’t even feel like I’ve accomplished anything. I’m hungry and motivated, and I want to keep wrestling, Lord willing, for a long time.”

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Kyle Dake, a four-time world champion, fills the 74kg spot for a second consecutive Games after sweeping fellow Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Jason Nolf.

Dake’s father, Doug, who introduced him to wrestling and coached him in high school, died last week.

“It’s the first time that I had to do this without him,” Dake said. “I just really miss him and wish he was here. I wanted to do him proud, and it’s hard to find the words to say how much he means to me.”

Like Dake, Sarah Hildebrandt won bronze in Tokyo and is undefeated against Americans since 2017. She made her seventh consecutive Olympic or world team by sweeping 17-year-old Arizona high school senior Audrey Jimenez at 50kg.

Elor succeeds retired Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock as the U.S. rep at 68kg after beating Forrest Molinari. In 2022, Elor became at age 18 the youngest American wrestler to win a world title, then repeated last year, both at 72kg, which is not an Olympic weight. Her last defeat to a countrywoman was at age 11 in 2015.

Brooks, who last month won a fourth consecutive NCAA title for Penn State, became the first American to defeat Taylor since 2017, not counting injury defaults.

Brooks beat Zahid Valencia on Friday at 10:45 p.m., then spent nearly three hours cutting 12 pounds by striding on a treadmill next to UFC fighter, former NCAA champion and coach Bo Nickal, wrestling and spending time in the sauna, went to sleep at 2 a.m., woke up at 6, made weight by 8 and then won his first match over Taylor at 12:45 p.m.

Taylor, his Nittany Lion Wrestling Club teammate, was rested with a bye into the finals as a reigning world medalist.

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Blades, a runner-up to Mensah-Stock at the Tokyo trials at age 17, became the first American to unseat Gray for an Olympic or world team spot since the 2012 London Games. She will become the second-youngest U.S. woman to wrestle at the Olympics after Elor.

“This was, honestly, my goal since I was 7 and we did the calculations, like, OK, I would be old enough (in 2024),” Blades said.

Also Saturday, five wrestlers won weight classes where the U.S. has not yet qualified an Olympic quota spot: Spencer Lee (freestyle 57kg), Zain Retherford (freestyle 65kg), Dalton Roberts (Greco-Roman 60kg), 2012 Olympian Ellis Coleman (Greco-Roman 67kg) and Kamal Bey (Greco-Roman 77kg).

Those five men will clinch Olympic spots if they finish in the top three in their classes at a last-chance international Olympic qualifier in Turkiye in May.

Lindsey Munday Selected as U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team Head Coach

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By Brian Logue | USA Lacrosse

USA Lacrosse has announced that two-time World Cup champion Lindsey Munday has been selected as the U.S. Women’s Sixes National Team head coach. Munday’s appointment will include two international championships – The World Games 2025 in China and the inaugural World Lacrosse Sixes Championship, scheduled for 2026.

Munday, the head women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Southern California, won gold medals with the U.S. at the 2009 and 2013 World Cups, serving as a team captain for the 2013 squad. Munday earned All-World honors at both championships and holds U.S. national team records for assists in tournament (21) and career (35).

“As we look to build our U.S. national team sixes program, Lindsey brings the experience of building a program from scratch at USC,” said USA Lacrosse CEO Marc Riccio. “She carries herself with professionalism and has a great understanding of the international game through her significant contributions to two gold medals.”

“I always knew that I would love the opportunity to coach for Team USA,” Munday said. “To be able to represent your country and play at the highest level is just something that you dream of, so if I had the opportunity to come back as a coach, I knew that’s something that I wanted.”

Munday will coach the new sixes discipline of the sport that will be utilized for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Sixes is a fast-paced version of the sport played on a smaller field (70 x 36 meters), with fewer players (6-v-6), a condensed game length (four 8-minute quarters) and a 30-second shot clock.

“As someone who just loves the sport of lacrosse, I love innovation,” Munday said. “Everyone is still learning, and the game is still growing. I think that is something that drew me to sixes. I’m excited to learn more about the game and to really push sixes forward so that in 2028 the U.S. will be at our very best to compete at the highest level.”

Munday was the first coach in USC history and the program launched with the 2013 season. In just over a decade of leading the Trojans, the program has won four conference championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament six times.

Her 2016 and 2017 teams each reached the NCAA quarterfinal round with her 2016 team winning a school-record 20 games and finishing the year ranked No. 5 in the country. In 2023, the Trojans captured their second Pac-12 championship.

Prior to coming to USC, Munday spent four years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Northwestern. The Wildcats went 85-4 in her four seasons, winning three consecutive national championships from 2007 to 2009.

As a player, Munday helped Northwestern to its first two national championships in 2005 and 2006, serving as a team captain her senior year. She was a two-time first team All-American and finished her career with 268 career points.

The U.S. has only competed in international competition in sixes on three previous occasions. In 2021, USA Lacrosse hosted a three-team Super Sixes event with Canada and the Haudenosaunee. The U.S. and Canada each went 3-1 at the round-robin event. In 2022, Canada defeated the U.S. 14-12 in the gold medal game at The World Games. Last fall, the U.S. beat Canada 8-7 in the championship game of the Super Sixes event in Canada.

The U.S. Women’s National Team trains and plays using game-changing, high-performance equipment from Cascade Maverik, Gait Lacrosse and STX and best-in-class products from Enovis (sports bracing).

In addition to these partners, Gatorade, MedStar Health and Stryker are official sponsors of the U.S. National Team Program. Team training is also aided by products from Athletic Republic.

Funding for the national teams also comes from generous donors to the USA Lacrosse Foundation. Help support the team.

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