For the Whitman men’s lacrosse team, the season starts in the frigid cold of mid-winter, more than a month and a half before the team’s first match.

Starting so early, according to Coach Dave Schmitz, is a “commitment to excellence” which the players are happy to bear and is part of the reason the team has had so much success.

Since 1985, when Schmitz arrived, the team has won the Pacific Northwest Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) conference title nine times and finished a close second five times.

“The hard work and willingness to play as a team have made us successful over the years,” said Schmitz. “[The players] understand what we are trying to do and go out and play with intensity and execute. They respect the tradition of the program and enjoy the game.”

With a 17-4 win over Willamette on April 25 in the quarterfinals of the conference championships, the team is looking to carry its momentum through to a conference title.

Standing in their way, however, are Western Washington University and Western Oregon University, two teams that beat Whitman 15-9 and 20-13 respectively during the regular season. If they play to their potential, the Whitman team is confident that they can compete with both teams and snag another conference title.

“Going into playoffs, I feel like, as a team, we have a good balance of confidence and awareness,” said junior attacker Bidnam Lee. “We know that if we play to our full potential, we can win the conference title, but at the same time, we know that if we don’t bring it for 60 minutes a game, every game, some of these teams will be very difficult to beat.”

Bringing it every game might be hard for the many injured players on the team who are nursing torn labrums and sprained ankles among other ailments.

“There are guys on the team right now playing with shin splints, torn labrums and sprained ankles, damaged ligaments, pulled muscles and strained backs,” said Lee. “These are all injuries that would just get better if they stopped playing, but for all of those guys, for all of us, the opportunity to be champions is worth so much more than simply getting better.”

“Our disregard for our own individual selves is exceeded only by our immense regard for the collective success of the team, and the ultimate success for the team would be to win the title,” said Lee.

There are a few improvements that the team would like to make before their semifinal matchup against Western Oregon. One of these is learning to work more as a team and less as a loose collection of talented players.

“We have as much individual talent as anyone in the league,” said Lee, “but we’re really trying to focus on becoming more cohesive as a unit in all facets of the game, whether defensively or offensively.”

If the team wins the conference title, they will get to go to the national tournament which is being held in Denver, Colo. this year.