After winning the conference championship last year, the women’s lacrosse team’s excitement quickly faded. Despite defeating Santa Barbara Community College (SBCC) for a spot in nationals, UC Santa Cruz stayed home while SBCC made the trip to compete in Denver, Colorado.

“It was hard to know we couldn’t compete at the highest level because of funding,” said women’s club lacrosse captain Ashley Bark. “It made us realize how important it was to fundraise. It was frustrating.”