Another Successful Summer Series in the Books 

The 2023 IWLCA Summer Tournament Series came to a close with the Midwest and West Coast Cups. Despite these being two of the smaller regional gatherings for our member coaches and prospective student-athletes, both tournaments showed much growth and continued success thanks in large part to Elite Tournaments and the IWLCA's partnered sponsors.

"The IWLCA Summer Tournament Series has come to a close, and what a summer it has been," stated Caitlin Schmeltz, Director of Lacrosse at Elite Tournaments. "Six tournaments in seven weeks! We saw so many smiles and amazing plays on the field this summer. Thank you to all the venues, teams, athletes, parents, coaches, club representatives, referees, and vendors for spending part of your summer with us. Super excited for the fall! Elite continues to be grateful for the partnership with the IWLCA and looks forward to continuing the work we have done thus far and building upon on successes." 

Held at the Lou Fusz Athletic Complex, the Midwest Cup played host to roughly 600 prospective student-athletes. Over 70 member coaches attended as 85 games were played across the seven-field venue (July 15-16).  

A week later, teams made their way to the West coast for some California sun and competition at the Morgan Hill Sports Complex just south of San Jose. 

"This was my first time covering the West Coast Cup and I was very impressed with the turnout," stated Tiffany Taylor, IWLCA Manager of Communications and Marketing. "Saturday reached very high temps but the players kept a positive attitude and continued to play hard in each matchup. I was also thrilled to see an increase in IWLCA Experience Clinic participants the Friday night before the games began. Thank you to the college coaches that spent three hours with nearly 100 eager-to-learn athletes that evening. The players were able to gain some valuable lacrosse and recruiting knowledge from 11 awesome member coaches!"

An estimated 1,263 student-athletes and 65 member coaches were in attendance as 76 teams carried out 153 games on the 11-field complex for the two-day event. 

Vendor Village continues to thrive in both settings as crowds gathered to take home some awesome tournament apparel, enjoy sweet treats and delicious foods, talk Player Data, and take memorable photos in front of the "Grow The Game" wall.

With a break in tournament action, the IWLCA Tournament Series will resume with, both, the newly added Leaders Cup in Richmond, Virginia and the Southwest Cup in Tucson, Arizona on November 4-5. Visit iwlcarecruiting.com for more details.

Midwest Cup, By The Numbers
74 IWLCA Member Coaches
47 Teams
85 Games Played/Officiated
596 Prospective Student-Athletes
19 States Represented
7 Fields (UMASS Amherst) 
18 officials

West Coast Cup, By The Numbers
65 IWLCA Member Coaches
76 Teams
153 Games Played/Officiated
1263 Prospective Student-Athletes
15 States and Canada Represented
11 Fields (Morgan Hill Sports Complex) 
31 officials
98 Experience Clinic athletes (11 Coaches)