By Aaron Weitzman / Staff writer

Lacrosse is the fastest growing women’s sport in the country, and the sport might find its way to UPG.

Athletic director Dick Hack is considering adding women’s lacrosse to the Pitt-Greensburg list of intercollegiate sports.

“It’s up to us to get the sports that the students want and I’m always considering new sports,” Hack said.

The team still is a couple of years away. But the Title IX implications are being considered now.

Hack said there are three points that one has to consider for compliance.

One is proportionality. The number of female athletes have to be close to proportional to the percentage of female students on campus.

Next is how the sports are treated. Men’s and women’s teams must receive equal budgets, facilities and coaching staffs.

The third point is measuring women’s interest on campus.

Hack said he is in the process of determining interest on campus and is trying to get a ballpark figure of how many students would like to play.

To do so, the athletic department posted fliers, sent out e-mails and organized a meeting to get a ballpark figure of how many women are interested.

Most of the women’s soccer team is interested in playing.

And so is senior Katie Bondarenka.

Bondarenka, who used to play softball for UPG, is looking to stay active and says she misses the team atmosphere.

“I think UPG should have a lacrosse team. I think athletics are a big part of college life, it helps you bond with others and it really benefits freshmen to join an athletic team so they can get to know people without as much pressure,” she said.

Bondarenka, like many girls interested in playing, doesn’t have any experience playing lacrosse.

That’s where Lauren Radakovich comes into the picture.

Radakovich is the new athletic trainer at UPG. She played lacrosse at Michigan State University. She knows the game well and loves the fact that they are trying to get a team together.

“We need another girl’s team here, and it’s also the cheapest sport that you can start. We have the facilities. We might as well use them, and there are a lot of free recruits in the area for the sport,” Radakovich said.

The players will learn the game, step by step.

“We are going to be starting next week in the gym. I’m going to get them acquainted with the sport and teach them the rules and basic fundamentals,” Radakovich said.

Radakovich is hoping for a big turnout, but more than anything, she is hoping this is the first step to a new sport at Pitt-Greensburg.