BC’s Kate Weeks on breaking the glass ceiling, reaching the Final Four with her best friends
"We wanted to do something that BC's never done before."
For the first time in program history, Boston College women’s lacrosse has reached the Final Four. It’s a milestone achievement, though the signs have been pointing in the right directions for years. Now, the Eagles will be one of the four teams converging on Gillette Stadium this weekend to determine the 2017 National Champion.
Kate Weeks, a senior on BC’s roster, has played a significant role in helping the team to its 16-6 record. Leading up to the Final Four, Weeks has been particularly effective in late-season games. In the team’s previous game against the University of Southern California, Weeks tallied a season-high nine points off of three goals and six assists.
Along with her fellow seniors, Weeks is a member of the winningest class in the history of the program.
Leading up to the Final Four, Weeks discussed a range of topics, including her connection to her teammates and grappling with the rigors of academic and athletic commitments.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
You’re officially a college graduate. How did you greet such a moment knowing that you’re college experience is not quite finished?
Kate Weeks: It feels awesome. I don’t think it’s hit me yet too, because we’re still at school. All of my friends that are seniors had to leave right after, and they’re all home now. So I don’t think it’s hit any of us (on the team) yet. The Final Four is everything that we’d dreamed of, so graduation wasn’t as much of an emphasis as maybe usual.
You mentioned your friends who weren’t playing lacrosse. I assume they were celebrating graduation in a more typical way. How have you and your teammates managed this period of celebrating graduation while staying focused on your games?
KW: Winning and the Final Four has just been in the forefront of our mind. School and athletics — obviously it’s the same for every athlete — but school is our first priority and has been always, so even with senior week and everything, making the Final Four has always been our dream. We did everything to sacrifice everything we can to make it there, so I think for us, missing out on normal college life doesn’t really effect me at all.
And so it’s the first time that the program has reached the Final Four. Your class will also leave with more career victories than any other in the program’s history. How much does that matter to you in terms of legacy, or are you just focused on the here and now?
KW: What I think this year’s group of girls specifically thought about, especially coming to the end of the season, was that we wanted to break the glass ceiling. We wanted to do something that BC’s never done before. Because my freshman year, we made it to the Elite Eight. And other than that, we would go to the Sweet Sixteen or lose in the first round or second round. We’d never [previously] got that Final Four. It’s just something that’s been in the forefront of our minds. We knew that we could do it and break through and put every single piece of emotion and hard work into our bodies and brains towards getting there. We were done losing early.
As you mentioned, your team has been through some peaks and valleys to reach this point. Now you’ve done it and reached the Final Four. Of course, this year, it’s at Gillette [Stadium], which will be like having home-field advantage. How much of an edge will that be, playing so close to home?
KW: It’s huge. It’s kind of something that we’ve thought about as we’re going to be playing on the same field as the Patriots, who are the Super Bowl champions. I love Boston. Being on the field that represents Boston sports is something that we’ve talked about ever since the beginning, since we found out that we’re at Gillette. It has been absolutely a motivation for us.
Going back through some of the team’s wins this year, it includes some of the more traditional college lacrosse powerhouses. Have you thought about what that could mean for the future of BC’s program?
KW: Well, I just want to give credit to our alumni, dating back to people who started the program. And that’s something that [team coach] Acacia [Walker] has ingrained into our minds. We would not be where we are today, beating these teams, without all of the alumni we had. Those people made the program, created the program to what it is today. They did all that so that the girls in my generation could have all the opportunity that we have. In terms of our legacy, you just have to be a close team. You have to play for each other, because that also effects how you interact on the field. And our legacy, at BC, is we just have a strong bond and I’ve never seen that in any other team.
When you were in high school, why did you decide on Boston College instead of some of the other schools that were recruiting you? Did you think about that in terms of the legacy you could leave?
KW: When I was getting recruited, two of the top players in the country were here, and they’re two of the best players that I’ll ever get a chance to play with. So I give a lot of credit and respect to them, because they brought so many people here and gave the program so much recognition when they were here. Also, my sister went to BC, and that was cool having her here. I knew a lot about Boston College through her. When I was a freshman, she was a senior.
A lot of my friends went to more traditional schools that have already won a national championship and gone to the Final Four. I just remember considering those schools, but thinking why go to a team that’s already established. I just thought I want to be on a team that I can help get there and be part of that story. That’s what we said as freshmen.
What will you miss most about Boston College lacrosse?
KW: Hands down it’s going to be the girls. It’s brought tears to my eyes all season. Every single year. I wish that people on the outside could understand how close we are. That is one is one thing that’s going to break my heart is not being with these girls every single second of the day. And in terms of that, our thing has been that we keep saying, ‘We want another week.’ We want another week with our best friends so we don’t have to leave each other. It’s been pushing us to fight every single game.
Looking beyond lacrosse, and life after graduation, has it been strange at all to put that on hold as you’re graduated but still committed to college athletics?
KW: So I’m becoming a broker in New York, and I’m moving — I already have an apartment — in July. To be honest, I haven’t been thinking about that as much. I’m trying to stay in the present, because that’s also scary. I have to learn a new joy, and it’s a lot. But I’m excited.
Are you worried that despite being the home team at Gillette Stadium, Bill Belichick might be rooting for Navy, given his family ties?
KW: I’m hoping that he’ll at least be split, just because we’re a Boston team playing on the Patriots’ field. I’m hoping he’ll be on the sideline, but I’m not going to look since I don’t want to be distracted. But also with Navy, we love them. Those are amazing people that go there.
A taking point with Boston College in any sport is that it competes at a high level in athletics, but has high academic standards. What advice do you have for managing such a demanding schedule?
KW: Obviously, there’s a lot of stress with academics and athletically too. There’s always a lot of pressure on you to perform a certain way. Things do get cutthroat. At a school like BC, my advice is just that you have to be willing to do the work, academically. To be honest, the way I balance that with athletics is every day I come in I think that my goal is when I graduate and am done with lacrosse, people aren’t going to remember whether I was All-ACC or however many goals I scored, people just remember how you made them feel. And that’s just kind of what I tried to do every single day for four years.
