Since women’s lacrosse became a varsity sport at Colorado College in 1995, CC has established itself as one of the top programs in the West and a force to be reckoned with in the NCAA Division III ranks. After posting a 4-6 record in their inaugural season as an intercollegiate sport, the Tigers reeled off 11 consecutive winning seasons and have earned six NCAA Tournament berths.
CC’s women’s lacrosse team competed for the first time as varsity sport on March 11, 1995, when the Tigers dropped an 8-6 decision to the Colorado Club-North. Ten days later, Colorado College posted its first victory when the Tigers defeated Westmont College 8-7 in overtime. The highlight of the inaugural season was three consecutive wins at the end of the season, two of which came against the University of Denver.
After posting nine victories in each of the next two seasons against an increasingly difficult schedule, the Tigers posted a 12-4 record in 1998, a mark that still stands as the program’s second best single-season winning percentage at .750. That year, CC opened the season with six consecutive victories, which stands as the best start in the program’s history.
The 1999 season marked the program’s arrival on the national scene, when the Tigers posted a 12-6-1 record and earned the school’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. Following a 3-4 start, CC posted a 9-1-1 record in its final 11 regular season games, including three key victories at West Region opponents Denison University (14-10), Ohio Wesleyan University (15-5) and Kenyon College (19-11).
The Tigers were rewarded with a trip to Amherst College for the NCAA Tournament, where CC dropped a 21-13 decision. Amherst scored seven unanswered goals to help turn a 2-2 score into a 14-3 halftime lead. Colorado College refused to die and outscored the Jeffs 10-7 in the second half to make the final score respectable.
In 2000, CC posted an 8-4 record despite its most challenging schedule in six years of varsity status and had two additional wins vs. university club teams. The Tigers defeated Division I Denver (10-8) and Division II Regis University (18-0), while three of the their four losses were to teams that earned NCAA Tournament berths (Gettysburg College, Middlebury College and Williams College).
Following an 8-7 campaign in 2001, the Tigers started the 2002 season 0-5 vs. NCAA teams and appeared to be destined for a rebuilding year. But a four-game winning streak in which CC outscored its opponents 78-23 turned the season around, and following a fifth loss by three goals or less, the Tigers won five of six games to improve to 10-7.
With a 7-4 record against Division III opponents, including a 5-0 mark vs. teams from the West, Colorado College earned its second invitation to the NCAA Tournament. And just as they did in 1999, the Tigers traveled to Amherst College for a first-round game. Despite dropping a 15-8 decision, CC showed that it had narrowed the gap between where Tiger lacrosse was that particular day and where it would be in the very near future.
In 2003, Colorado College played host to its first post-season match and defeated the College of Wooster, 13-7, in the first round at Stewart Field. 2004 saw the Tigers reel off a program-record 12 consecutive victories to open the season and CC won for the first time at the regional level, coming from behind for a 10-9 victory over St. Mary's College.
The Tigers made the leap from a regional power to a national power in 2005 when they advanced to the national semifinals for the first time in the program's history. Playing host to the first regional held west of the Mississippi River, Colorado College defeated Union College (17-12) and Cortland State (10-9 in double overtime) to advance to the final four. Despite losing to Salisbury University, 15-11, the Tigers proved they could compete with the top programs in the country.
