Well, if it's lacrosse season, it must be time for another "UMBC Family Lacrosse" story.

The last few years we've talked about Jeff and Josh Hahn, Dan and Steve Marohl, Jason and Justin Smith, etc., etc. But the reason we keep coming back to this theme is because of the tremendous sense of pride that these members of the lacrosse family have in the black and gold.

The 2002 version has a bit of a twist. Lee Ann and Gavin Stringer, Sr.'s eldest two children are Gavin, Jr., starting on attack on the men's squad, and younger sister Courtney, the starting netminder on the women's team. It was probably not much of a stretch to think that Gavin and Courtney would compete in the sport of lacrosse-but to wind up as starters during the same calendar year on the same field-those would have been some pretty long odds.

Gavin recalls at a very early age being introduced to lacrosse. His father lettered at the University of Maryland. His uncle, Pat, played at Johns Hopkins and his aunt Margy competed at Loyola. Their children, Megan (North Carolina), Amy (current senior at Richmond) and Dan (current sophomore at UNC) all played collegiate lacrosse. Gavin, Jr., recalls vividly that there were some old sticks lying around the house, (one purple one in particular) and he started them to use at an early age. Even though Gavin, Courtney, and younger brother Patrick (midfielder at DeSales University) were toted to many a club game that their father played, none were pressured to play the sport.

"We always had the choice to do what we wanted to or choose the sport we wanted to play," says Courtney, recalling the couple of years spent as a "ballerina" or Gavin's year away from the sport.

And, no, Courtney was not shoved into the goal by her brothers, hoping for target practice in front of the cage in the backyard. She played the field, until one year, when no one on her rec team would go into the goal.

"No one else on the team would do it and you didn't have to do any of the running," says Courtney. "Then when I tried out for the varsity (at Dulaney HS), the coach told me to stick with it." Of course, once Courtney started playing goal, Gavin and Patrick began to sharpen their shooting skills against her.

When it came time to look at colleges, UMBC was one of the only schools that Gavin considered in the fall of 1997. Ironically, another of Gavin's uncles, Tom, had been a roommate of Coach Zimmerman at Johns Hopkins. Gavin admits to making some mistakes during his first short-lived stint at UMBC, but overcame those errors and a torn anterior cruciate ligament to return to make the team again last season.

"I had never heard of UMBC until Gavin came here," said Courtney, who is two years younger than Gavin. I just loved it. It was the only place I really wanted to go. Of course, Gavin came back because he wanted to be near me," she says with a grin.

Both players have flourished this season. Gavin earned a starting spot on attack early in the season and has responded with six goals and two assists through the first seven games. "My first goal was to be able to play again," says Gavin. "But now that I am out there, I'm hungry to score and do whatever I can to help the team win."

"I am so happy for Gavin," says Courtney. "I am really proud of him and how far he has come…I cried when he scored his first goal."

After two years of playing behind starter Amy Jagoda, Courtney is the starter this season, and has become increasingly confident, as the season has progressed. Just before press time, she recorded a season-high 17 saves in a 15-11 win at American.

"Like Gavin, I just want our team to win," says Courtney. "I needed time to mature as a player and establish my role…I think I'm doing that this season."

Both are sociology majors, and as he has done in the latter stages of his collegiate career, Gavin seems prepared to meticulously plan his future. Although they relish this "shining moment" they are sharing together, both are anticipating the senior ceremony before the Maryland game.

Hopefully, many of the Stringers will be in attendance. Courtney will be there--hopefully with some games remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Yes, Gavin, Sr., and Lee Ann's eldest children have added another chapter of pride to the extended family, which is UMBC lacrosse.