The Swarthmore women’s lacrosse team has gotten off to a hot start this year. They currently sit at 9-2 on the season, with their only two losses so far to nationally-ranked number one Gettysburg and number two Franklin and Marshall. The Garnet has been led on offense by Swarthmore native Kathryn Restrepo ’19, who leads the team with 30 goals and 48 points. The Garnet have six more games remaining this season, and all will be against fellow Centennial Conference teams. They will continue their playoff push this Saturday on the road against Dickinson.
Jack Corkery: What is your major, and what led you to choose this field of study?
Kathryn Restrepo: I am a double major in political science and Spanish. My dad is from Colombia so Spanish is his first language. I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish with him and because of that, I made learning to speak it a priority in high school and college. Political science is a pretty big department and because of that there are usually a number of interesting course offerings. I took a couple of political science courses that I enjoyed my first two years here and decided to go for it.
JC: What made you decide to attend Swarthmore?
KR: I grew up in Swarthmore so I wasn’t really considering coming here because of how close to home it is. I decided very last minute to apply and when I was admitted, I spoke with a few students, went to some classes, and had a rather strange (in the best kind of way) Ride the Tide [the admitted students weekend now known as Swatstruck] experience which led to my eventual decision to spend my formative college years at the small college in the small town that I grew up in.
JC: What is your favorite spot on campus?
KR: Hmm…there are many that I wouldn’t dare mention in the Phoenix for fear of exposing them to the general public. For the purpose of this interview I will say the Crum Woods without going into any specifics.
JC: If you could change one thing about Swarthmore, what would it be?
KR: One thing I can say for sure is that I would resurrect the beloved Papazian [the building that housed the Philosophy and Psychology departments] and do away with the BEP building which somehow seems larger every time I look at it. Papazian was knocked down to make way for the monstrous BEP building and I’m still mourning its loss.
JC: Do you have any post-graduation plans?
KR: I’m going to be working at a startup in Washington, DC.
JC: The team is off to a hot spot this year. What do you think has been the biggest driver of success so far this season?
KR: This has been a really fun season so far and our coaches always tell us that the reason we play is to have fun and enjoy playing a sport that we love, so I would say great coaches who push us to work hard and encourage us to enjoy the experience.
JC: All three of your seniors have scored at least 100 career goals. How have you and your classmates grown to become team leaders over your four years?
KR: I started at Swat with the class of 2018 but took a year off after my sophomore year. When I got back to Swat and joined the class of 2019, Tess and Eliza welcomed me with open arms. The story of our class blossoming into team leaders has truly been a fairy tale of sorts, complete with goblins, elves, talking animals, and enchantment.
JC: Do you have any personal or team goals for the rest of the season?
KR: As a team we definitely hope to continue working hard while having a good time and win our last couple of games against some really talented conference teams. April is always a challenging month, but we’re excited for what is to come.
The Swarthmore women’s lacrosse team has gotten off to a hot start this year. They currently sit at 9-2 on the season, with their only two losses so far to nationally-ranked number one Gettysburg and number two Franklin and Marshall. The Garnet has been led on offense by Swarthmore native Kathryn Restrepo ’19, who leads the team with 30 goals and 48 points. The Garnet have six more games remaining this season, and all will be against fellow Centennial Conference teams. They will continue their playoff push this Saturday on the road against Dickinson.
Jack Corkery: What is your major, and what led you to choose this field of study?
Kathryn Restrepo: I am a double major in political science and Spanish. My dad is from Colombia so Spanish is his first language. I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish with him and because of that, I made learning to speak it a priority in high school and college. Political science is a pretty big department and because of that there are usually a number of interesting course offerings. I took a couple of political science courses that I enjoyed my first two years here and decided to go for it.
JC: What made you decide to attend Swarthmore?
KR: I grew up in Swarthmore so I wasn’t really considering coming here because of how close to home it is. I decided very last minute to apply and when I was admitted, I spoke with a few students, went to some classes, and had a rather strange (in the best kind of way) Ride the Tide [the admitted students weekend now known as Swatstruck] experience which led to my eventual decision to spend my formative college years at the small college in the small town that I grew up in.
JC: What is your favorite spot on campus?
KR: Hmm…there are many that I wouldn’t dare mention in the Phoenix for fear of exposing them to the general public. For the purpose of this interview I will say the Crum Woods without going into any specifics.
JC: If you could change one thing about Swarthmore, what would it be?
KR: One thing I can say for sure is that I would resurrect the beloved Papazian [the building that housed the Philosophy and Psychology departments] and do away with the BEP building which somehow seems larger every time I look at it. Papazian was knocked down to make way for the monstrous BEP building and I’m still mourning its loss.
JC: Do you have any post-graduation plans?
KR: I’m going to be working at a startup in Washington, DC.
JC: The team is off to a hot spot this year. What do you think has been the biggest driver of success so far this season?
KR: This has been a really fun season so far and our coaches always tell us that the reason we play is to have fun and enjoy playing a sport that we love, so I would say great coaches who push us to work hard and encourage us to enjoy the experience.
JC: All three of your seniors have scored at least 100 career goals. How have you and your classmates grown to become team leaders over your four years?
KR: I started at Swat with the class of 2018 but took a year off after my sophomore year. When I got back to Swat and joined the class of 2019, Tess and Eliza welcomed me with open arms. The story of our class blossoming into team leaders has truly been a fairy tale of sorts, complete with goblins, elves, talking animals, and enchantment.
JC: Do you have any personal or team goals for the rest of the season?
KR: As a team we definitely hope to continue working hard while having a good time and win our last couple of games against some really talented conference teams. April is always a challenging month, but we’re excited for what is to come.
that’s my goalie coach !!