High Point lacrosse sets bar higher

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University (HPU) plans to break ground on a new 31,500-square-foot Athletic Performance Center for its student-athletes at Vert Stadium this fall as announced by the school on Thursday.

The $9 million facility will house the Panthers’ growing athletics program which includes NCAA Division I men’s and women’s lacrosse.

“The Athletic Performance Center is going to be such a tremendous asset to not only our program but the entire High Point University family,” men’s lacrosse head coach John Torpey said.

“The project speaks volumes of the dedication and support the University has for athletics. Having had the opportunity to visit and coach at universities with tremendous lacrosse facilities, I truly believe the Athletic Performance Center will be one of the finest in the country upon its completion. It’s a dream come true and we can hardly wait for the day we can make it our permanent home.”

The Panther Club, the university’s athletic booster club, committed $3 million toward the project.

The new facility will house a 120-seat academic center, including upgraded technology and space to support HPU’s student-athletes in the classroom.

The facility will also house a new athletic training center, which will aid in injury prevention, treatment and the rehabilitation process of HPU’s student-athletes.

It includes a hydrotherapy area with a Hydroworx in-ground cold whirlpool and an underwater treadmill.

The facility will include new locker rooms and lounges for men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, as well as men’s and women’s soccer teams.

A hospitality suite located on the third floor will overlook the field, a media area and video production area will be located on the second floor, and offices for coaches and support staff members will be located in the building as well.

HPU’s women’s lacrosse team ended the 2013 season with a 10-9 record, has already won multiple Big South conference championships,  and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in Chapel Hill, losing in the first round to the 11th-ranked Lehigh Greyhounds.

The men’s lacrosse team completed its inaugural season playing as an independent, finishing with a 3-12 record, and will compete in the new Atlantic Sun Conference lacrosse league starting in 2014.

“From day one, our program has received great support from the University and this further exemplifies HPU’s commitment to athletics,” women’ lacrosse head coach Lyndsey Boswell said.

“The new facility will have all of the resources our student-athletes need to compete at the highest level and it will help attract top-notch lacrosse players. It’s a unique advantage that all of our player development resources will be in one location and I’m confident that this will help us take bigger steps on the national level.”

In making such an extensive investment, the Panthers athletics program is setting nothing but the highest standards for its athletes to work towards.

“The academic center will support all of our student-athletes on a daily basis and the athletic training center will be a phenomenal resource for all of our programs,” Athletic Director Craig Keilitz said.

“We expect great success on and off the field from our lacrosse and soccer programs and this is another piece to achieve that.”