Over a year ago, sophomore Grand Valley State University lacrosse player Victoria Devine heard about a unique opportunity from her father, Christopher.

He read in the newspaper that people were trying out for the Irish Women’s National lacrosse team, he told Victoria, which sparked her interest in potentially trying out.

“He told me about it and I was going to go last year, but I decided to get a year of college lacrosse in and try out this past October,” Devine said.

In the first year of the GVSU lacrosse program, Devine would go onto be named to the Division II All-Independent team after tallying 37 goals and six assists and lead the team with 43 points.

“She’s a very smart player,” said head coach Alicia Groveston. “She has a very high lacrosse IQ. She’s able to see the play as it develops. She’s really grown into our system and become much more confident in her own personal abilities and the abilities of her teammates. She’s kind of the complete package.”

After getting a year of college lacrosse under her belt, Devine decided to tryout for the Irish Women’s National lacrosse team. She traveled to Dublin, Ireland in October and stayed there for a weekend while the tryouts commenced.

When Devine heard she made the team, it didn’t come as a total surprise to her, but she still remained ecstatic.

“I was excited,” Devine said. “There wasn’t a lot of people at tryouts, so I didn’t really think I was not gonna make it, but it was really exciting. It’s just a really nice honor to have to play for my heritage and I think it’s a really nice way to see how I’ve improved over the years.”

Devine and her teammates will take part in the World Lacrosse Championship this summer in Oshawa, Ontario. She is one of two Americans on the team. Devin was eligible to try out for the Irish squad since she is a dual citizen because her grandmother was born in Ireland.

“I think it’s a huge honor for her,” Groveston said. “We’re so unbelievably excited for her. This is something she took on herself. She went to Ireland and obviously played her hardest and made an impact over there. We’re just so pumped for her to see where she can go with this and what it’ll do. The opportunity she gets to play on an international level is so cool.”

For Devine, her first year at GVSU convinced her that she was good enough to tryout. Her confidence continued to grow throughout the season.

“Grand Valley helped me a lot,” Devine said. “My coach definitely helped me prepare for my tryouts. I definitely wasn’t confident last year to tryout. Playing through practices and games really helped me build enough confidence to tryout.”

Devine has also helped the new GVSU lacrosse program gain early traction and attract recognition in its infant stages.

“For our program, obviously, it’s name recognition,” Groveston said. “We have someone that plays in the World Cup that goes to Grand Valley State, which is unbelievable to myself and our coaching staff. We’re just really proud of who she’s become. As she’s grown, so has our program.”
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