News-Letter

Media Credit: Shiv Gandhi [Click to enlarge]

Janine Tucker, head coach of the women's lacrosse, is nothing but positive. And with victories over George Mason and George Washington behind her she has every reason to be so. Tucker has a tremendous amount of faith in her team and considers the girls to be more like family than anything else.

Tucker is a Baltimore native. She started playing lacrosse at Loch Raven Senior High School in her sophomore year. Originally a field hockey player, Tucker was encouraged to take up lacrosse by her field hockey coach, and there was no turning back from there. She fell in love with the sport and excelled at it.

At Loyola College in Maryland she played Division I field hockey and lacrosse. "One of my most memorable moments from playing lacrosse in college," she says, "was being elected captain as a junior. Most of the other captains had been seniors but I was a junior, and I felt a real sense of responsibility toward my teammates and a sense of pride. I was being trusted to lead my team."

That trust in Tucker never faltered and because of her dedication to the school and her affluence in sports, the Athletic Director at Loyola asked her to stay on and coach after graduation. Tucker remained at Loyola coaching beside one of her best friends and teammates for four years.

It was in 1992 that Bob Scott, the Athletic Director at Hopkins at the time, contacted her about coaching the women's team at Homewood Field.

"What drew me to the program was the Johns Hopkins name. The prestige of the university was very attractive, an honor. It has such a wonderful name in Baltimore, and I was really excited about it," Tucker said. That was 14 years ago.

Tucker helped the Hopkins team make the transition from a Division III team to Division I in 1999. It was a move that went more smoothly than expected, since Tucker had been coaching the team at a D-I level from the start.

Since then, Tucker has worked hard to establish a strong team philosophy, which in her opinion, can be the key to a successful team. The team's core philosophy is one of family; it's all or nothing for these girls.

"My favorite saying," Tucker says, "is that when you're through improving, you're through. We can always get a little bit better." It is this mindset that pushes the lacrosse team forward, allowing them to steadily improve their game and go as far as the NCAA championships.

Coach Tucker is excited about her 2007 team. "The best thing about them is their energy," she says. "They are feisty and fun and incredibly hard working. They welcome challenges with a `bring it on,' attitude."

Two years ago the girls made it to the final four of the NCAA games, losing to Virginia for fourth place, but the real highlight of their season was solidly defeating Georgetown at the end of the season. "It was a must-win game. Georgetown is a well-established, extremely successful, top-tier, Division I team and we wrecked `em," Tucker says. Last year the team just missed their third consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament even though they ended their season with a 12-4 record. The women's team started last year at the number seven position and ended an eight-game winning streak with the No. 2 position in the national polls, setting a division record for the team.

Tucker has said, "You look forward to playing a good team and to playing well enough to beat a good team."

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