La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Intercollegiate Athletics Department has announced the addition of women's lacrosse to its list of varsity teams starting in the fall of 2019.  Women's lacrosse will become the 21st varsity sport and the 12th for women at UW-La Crosse.

UW-La Crosse Director of Athletics Kim Blum has also announced the hiring of Cassandra Berger as the Eagles' head women's lacrosse coach.  Women's lacrosse will start varsity competition in 2019-20 with games being played in spring.  Home games will be played on the UW-La Crosse soccer field at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.   

"Cassandra has great energy and a personality that will serve her well in starting a program," said Blum.  "I've been very impressed with her initiative and work ethic."

Berger earned four letters in lacrosse at the University of Dubuque (Iowa), serving as team captain her senior season.  She earned Dubuque's (Iowa) Coaches Award and was named to the Midwest Lacrosse Conference All-Academic Team.  Berger earned her bachelor's degree with a triple major in accounting, human resource management and business administration from Dubuque (Iowa) in 2016 and is currently pursuing her master's degree in business administration.

She has been an assistant women's lacrosse coach at Dubuque (Iowa) since August, recruiting 12 students to campus for the 2019 season.  Berger has developed and conducted weekly strength and conditioning plans for the squad while assisting in all aspects of the program.

"I'm incredibly honored to have been selected to coach at UW-La Crosse, an institution that has such a great reputation from both an athletic and academic standpoint," said Berger. "I've previously had the opportunity to help build a college lacrosse program as an athlete, so now I'm eager to build a lacrosse program as a head coach."

Berger serves as a graduate assistant in the Wendt Character Center at the University of Dubuque (Iowa), supervising 60 Wendt Character Scholars and serving as the Director of Social Media.

"I am thrilled to be involved in the evolution of this program," added Berger.  "This is a very exciting time for me, for UW-La Crosse, and for anyone who is interested in lacrosse, the fastest growing sport in the Midwest."

UW-La Crosse joins UW-River Falls in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) to sponsor women's lacrosse.  UW-River Falls plays its first matches starting in February 2019.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has conducted women's lacrosse championships since 1985.  Gettysburg College (Pa.) has won the last two national championships, including an 11-9 victory over Middlebury College (Vt.) in 2018.  The 2019 NCAA III Championship is scheduled for May 25-26 at Randolph-Macon College (Va.).
 

A total of 42 teams are selected to compete in the NCAA III Championship. The addition of women's lacrosse at UW-La Crosse brings the total to 287 teams in NCAA Division III, including seven in Wisconsin.  Along with UW-La Crosse and UW-River Falls, Beloit College, Carroll University, Carthage College, Concordia University Wisconsin and Northland College sponsor women's lacrosse.

Women's golf was added at UW-La Crosse in March 2018.  The Eagles played in six tournaments in fall 2018, including a seventh-place finish at the WIAC Championships.  UW-La Crosse will play in three spring tournaments, starting with the Clarke University (Iowa) Invitational on April 13-14.

The addition of women's golf was the first sport expansion for UW-La Crosse since women's soccer in 1992.  Women's golf was a varsity sport at UW-La Crosse from 1970-71 through 1982-83.  It was suspended at the conclusion of the 1982-83 season and became a club sport.

UW-La Crosse has won 71 national and 408 conference championships in school history.  The Eagles compete in NCAA Division III in baseball, women's and men's basketball, women's and men's cross country, football, women's golf, women's gymnastics, women's lacrosse, women's and men's tennis, women's soccer, softball, women's and men's swimming & diving, women's and men's indoor and outdoor track & field, women's volleyball and wrestling.  For more information, visit uwlathletics.com.