Completed Event: Women's Lacrosse at #4 Florida on May 15, 2025 , Loss , 9, to, 11
/
Final
Women's Lacrosse
9
at #4 Florida
11
Review a Chat With Emily Hickman and Courtney Rodgers
4/20/2000 1:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
Women's lacrosse players Emily Hickman and Courtney Rodgers stopped by GoDuke.com on April 26 to chat with fans about the season.
| Ife Onyeacholem asks What drives you to win most during games? |
|---|
| Emily- For ourselves and each other, you think of all the time you prepare for the games. Courtney- The games are the most fun. That is what you work for all year. |
| Stacy Martinez asks What is the toughest part in being a student-athlete? |
| Emily- The time commitment is tough. Four of five hours a day you are spending alot of energy for practices and athletics. Then when you get home, you're tired and deal with academics. Courtney- It forces you to manage your time better. You become more efficient inseason. |
| Shane Henry asks How supportive are your families? Do they come to most of your games? |
| Courtney- Yes, our team in general our parents come and support us. Yesterday, the fans came out. They're always there for us. Emily- They take great care of us especially on the road. |
| Tara Hodges asks Do you feel that your team gets the respect you deserve. The team has come so far in a short amount of time. Congrats! |
| Emily- Yes, we get a fair amount of respect. We shouldn't be given anything just because we've been here in a short time. Coach Kimel should get credit. Courtney- Everyone has respect for every team. Any day, any team can win. So no one is taken for granted. |
| Autumn Anderson asks Will you be at camp this summer? |
| Courtney- I'm not sure right now. I'm looking for an internship this summer. Emily- I'm not sure. There will be alot of great coaches there. |
| Gina Harrison asks Do you have any superstitions before a game? What do you do to relax? |
| Emily- I think our team is full of little superstitions. We have cheers. When we are at home and the visitor's team is announced, we tell jokes. People actually prepare for that time. Courtney- We have a special order that we do to walk on the field. We practice with the same person. |
| Kara Lawson asks Courtney, you've had such a great year. What are your goals for next year? Go Duke! |
| Courtney, I need to be a leader on and off the field. I need to keep working to improve my game. You always feel you can get yourself to a higher level. |
| Blaine Wilson asks Normally, who is your rival in lacrosse? Is it normally conference teams? |
| Emily- It is anyone we are playing. The ACC is tough. It's frustrating every year because we haven't played well in the ACC tournament. |
| Tim Neely asks What is your advice for kids that want to play lacrosse in the future? |
| Emily- Try to get involved in any leagues, clinics or camps to learn as early as possible when you're young. Courtney- Have fun and play as much as you can. |
| Sara Montgomery asks What are your plans after graduation? Do you ever want to coach? |
| Courtney- I still have another year. I don't know what I'll be doing. I'm not going into coaching right away. I've been involved in sports so much that I want to be in sports some way and give back to lacrosse. Emily- I agree with Courtney. Coaching is not in our immediate plans. Sam Sparks has been a huge help to our programs. I want to go to business school in two years. |
| Kasey Miller asks What did you learn from last year's Final Four that will help you this year? |
| Courtney- Just the experience of being there is huge. Knowing the pressure of being there is key. Most of us were there last year. So we can come in and know what it takes to win. |
| Summer Johnson asks What is one thing that your coach has taught you in the sport or in life that you will carry with you after college? |
| Courtney- One thing that is very applicable in sports and life is the ability to work with people. You have to be competitive but supportive at the same time. Emily- I agree with Courtney. What you get from coaches is the ability to take criticism well and use it. |
| Nelson Thompson asks Which is the toughest team ya'll have faced this year and what teams will be the toughest come NCAA Tournament time this year? |
| Emily- Maryland was obviously really tough. They have a strong attack defense. I think all the teams will be tough. The top ten is brutal this year. |
| Allison Wilson asks What is it like playing for Kerstin Kimel? She has done such a great job building the program into a powerhouse in so little time. |
| Emily- She's done a great job. It's been a learning experience for all of us in that she was new to Duke like us. She's been tough on us but it's paid off. Courtney- She's a great coach and prepares us well. She does a great job of recruiting and getting in good players. |
| Melissa Smith asks Going into the Dartmouth match on Friday. What will ya'll have to do to defeat the No. 2 ranked team in the country? |
| Emily- I think yesterday we had a great showing even though we lost. If both units show up to play in the same game, then we'll be in great shape. |
| Ricky Thomas asks Hello! Good luck in the NCAA's! What is the biggest goal you have ever scored and what is the most memorable game you have played in? |
| Emily- Courtney had a great goal in the JMU game in last year's tournament to get us to the Final Four. |
| Tommy Ried asks So ladies how was it advancing to the school's first ever Final Four last season? What was the best thing about being there? |
| Emily- The best thing about being there is knowing how far we've come in a short period of time. It was a great accomplishment and feeling. |
| Willis Ramsey asks Did both of you play any other sports growing up and how long have you been playing lacrosee? |
| Courtney- I've played a kinds of sports. My dad and brother and I played alot of sports. I played basketball and soccer on the high school level. Then I played lacrosse when I got older. Emily- I played field hockey, lacrosse, and basketball. I started playing lacrosse in the fourth grade. |
| Frank Smith asks Who has been your biggest influence in developing your lacrosse game? |
| Courtney- For me, I started playing lacrosse in eighth grade. My high school lacrosse, Kim Hutcherson got me into the game. She taught me the basics and encouraged me to keep going with it. She supported me to keep up with it in college. Emily- Bob Russell was a great lacrosse influence. I have alot of encounters with some other lacrosse coaches. |
| david hawley asks what is your most memorable game ever? |
| Emily- Beating Maryland in my sophmore year. Beating JMU to go to the Final Four is also a great game. |
| Dan Oliver Shedd asks Why did you come to duke? what is your major? |
| Courtney- I came to Duke because of its great academic tradition. It's a great opportunity to play at a top Division I program and a great academic program. When I came, it was good to get playing time when the team was so new. I'm an econ major. Emily- I think that being in a new program we all had a lot of faith in Kimel as a coach. She did a great job. I'm a biology major. |
| Bill Smith asks What do you think your chances are of advancing to a second straight final four this year? Good luck! |
| Courtney- I think we have a great chance to make it to the Final Four. We have great potential when we play as a team. I think it's just a question of being prepared and playing well. Emily- I think this year the teams are so even. We have to be mentally prepared. Any team can win on any given day. So it will be interesting. |
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseKerstin Kimel James Madison Postgame Press Conference 5-9
Friday, May 09
Kerstin Kimel Media Availability 5-7
Wednesday, May 07
Kerry Nease Media Availability 5-7
Wednesday, May 07
Madison Beale Media Availability 5-7
Wednesday, May 07
