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For Hall of Famer Michele DeJuliis, Athletes Unlimited lacrosse is key to sport’s Olympic future

When it comes to women’s lacrosse, Michele DeJuliis has seen it all. 

An All-American at Penn State, she helped the US women’s national lacrosse team win gold at the 2009 Women’s Lacrosse World Cup, having been a part of the program since 1994. A 2013 inductee to the US National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, she served as the commissioner of the United Women’s Lacrosse League before founding and guiding the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League, which had just signed a major sponsorship deal with Nike before it was forced to fold in 2020 due to COVID-19. 

After decades of fighting for the future of her sport, watching the WPLL fold was hard and emotional for DeJuliis. But after talking with Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros, the Co-Founders of Athletes Unlimited, DeJuliis felt confident in the direction of professional women’s lacrosse. 

As one door closed, another opened, with DeJuliis immediately pivoting to partner with the upstart league. 

“As emotional as it was for me, it was the right decision for the women that play our game,” she says. “Knowing that Jon and Jonathan have a serious passion for giving women’s sports the opportunity to be in the spotlight.

“They don’t leave a stone unturned.”

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DeJuliis’ drive to grow the game of lacrosse is bone-deep. It’s what first inspired her to start Ultimate Goal Lacrosse 20 years ago. It’s what allowed her to persevere through the ups and downs and arrive at her current role as Senior Director at Athletes Unlimited. And it’s what helps her to know that Athletes Unlimited has the power to grow the sport.

Having led Ultimate Goal Lacrosse for so long, she knows not only the value of developing kids early, but also for those kids to see their sport on TV.

“It’s all the opportunities that we would have wanted in the WPLL and [Patricof and Soros] having the resources to do it,” she says. “To have our sport, as long as the major impact people in our sport have been trying for years, especially at the collegiate level to get our sport on TV. And to have that now?”

DeJuliis knows that visibility matters. And with Athletes Unlimited games airing on CBS Sports Network and FS1, as well as being streamed on Facebook and YouTube, the sport of women’s lacrosse has never had so much concentrated exposure. 

“What I love about it is that we’re able to be in so many homes across the U.S. Hopefully those people are sports freaks, or just love to watch whatever sport they can on TV, and they’re catching our games.”

DeJuliis credits the people within the organization for having the vision and teamwork needed to bring lacrosse to the next level. 

“It takes a team and everybody within the AU community is all in, nobody has egos,” she says. “This is about getting a job done. Everybody is working so hard to make sure that these women have a great experience.”

Part of creating that experience has meant making the game faster. 

The Athletes Unlimited shot clock is 60 seconds, compared to the NCAA’s 90. The field is shorter and skinnier, only 95 yards by 60 yards as compared to the NCAA’s 120 yards by 75 yards. The rosters are also smaller, something that Athletes Unlimited says attracts “complete athletes” who are capable of playing both ends of the field.

These changes weren’t just made to speed the game up. The smaller rosters are also part of a larger campaign to make lacrosse more accessible and increase the chances of the sport’s inclusion at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

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Angie Benson makes a save on Cortney Fortunato (Athletes Unlimited)

The sport’s Olympic goal took a monumental step forward on July 20, when the International Olympic Committee voted to grant World Lacrosse, the international federation for lacrosse, full recognition.

The decision was exciting, if not surprising for DeJuliis. 

“I think it will happen,” she says. “It’s just a matter of time. You just have to remain hopeful and do whatever you can to support the Olympic dream.”

While Athletes Unlimited’s first priority is developing a sustainable professional league, those within the organization understand that they’re fighting for the future of the sport as a whole, and that Olympic inclusion would be downright game-changing. 

For DeJuliis, the best thing AU can do is showcase the sport at its best. 

“I hope that the Olympics, anybody that’s involved in that committee, can see what we’ve got displayed here and say, ‘this is something that we gotta have’,” she continued.

Adjusting the field and roster sizes may have been difficult for athletes and organizers, but it, too, will help in getting lacrosse to LA.

In order for a sport to be included in the Olympics, it needs to have international participation from at least 40 countries on three different continents. Having smaller roster sizes makes it easier to get more countries on board. The fewer people per team, the more affordable it is for countries to sponsor and train.

“There’s so much opportunity,” DeJuliis says. “Anybody that can now dedicate time and money, the sizing of this it’s just more manageable.

“I can only imagine that countries that start picking it up, we’ll see a huge jump in their growth… [and] their ability to actually perform and be competitive in World Lacrosse.”

At the last Women’s Lacrosse World Championships in 2019, 22 countries participated. Nine of them were new to the tournament. But even during a COVID year, World Lacrosse has only continued to grow, as was made evident by the IOC’s recognition. 

“I think [World Lacrosse] has made tremendous progress from where we were two years ago to now, having that recognition is unbelievable,” she says.

Even with all of the Olympics discussion, the scheduling of the Athletes Unlimited to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics was purely coincidence. Ultimately, it was what worked for some of the players to be able to compete while also focusing on the World Cup or coaching collegiately. 

At the same time, as people are plugged into a summer of sports, Athletes Unlimited gives fans a reason to keep the TV on, during and even after the Olympics conclude. 

“I think that with all that goes on in our world, especially with all of the things everybody’s been through, this is something that people need,” she says. “It’s just another opportunity to see another cool sport that is being showcased.

“Hopefully they flip on a channel and they watch for 10 seconds and they’re like, ‘I gotta keep watching’.”

Watch now, watch next year, and there’s a good chance you’ll be watching in 2028 as well.

Editor’s note: Athletes Unlimited is a sponsor of Just Women’s Sports.

Oklahoma Wins 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championship Title

Oklahoma gymnast Danae Fletcher lifts the 2025 NCAA championship trophy with her teammates.
Oklahoma has three of the last four NCAA gymnastics titles. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

No. 2-seed Oklahoma won their third NCAA gymnastics championship in four years on Saturday, topping fellow finalists No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 7 Missouri with an overall score of 198.0125.

With seven titles since 2014, Oklahoma regains its reputation as the sport's current dynasty, finishing atop the podium after falling short of a three-peat last year.

"Our theme wasn't redemption this year at all," Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler told reporters after Saturday's victory.

"Does it make it sweet? Yes, but this team was capable of this last year. We just failed. And people fail all the time. They fail every day. And we talk about [it] all the time that the glory is in getting back up again."

Freedom allowed Oklahoma to reclaim NCAA gymnastics crown

Last year, the then-defending champion Sooners stumbled in a shocking loss in the national semifinals, a fate the 2024 champion LSU squad similarly suffered last Thursday, when the top-seeded Tigers failed to advance to the final meet of 2025.

Between overcoming the semifinals hurdles themselves and seeing LSU ousted — arguably Oklahoma's biggest competition entering the weekend — the Sooners were able to breathe easier and enjoy their last competition of the season.

"After advancing, and we got to today, we were free," said senior Audrey Davis. "We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics."

That freedom had the Sooners leading the charge, finishing their first rotation on beam tied with eventual runners-up UCLA before taking full control of the meet — Oklahoma grabbed a second-rotation lead on the floor and never relinquished it.

As for the rest of the field, Missouri earned a program-record third-place finish in their first-ever NCAA final, while nine-time champions Utah closed their season in fourth.

For Oklahoma senior Jordan Bowers, the final weekend of her collegiate career was one for the books.

In addition to the team title, Bowers won the individual all-around competition during Thursday's semifinals — a day that also crowned LSU’s Kailin Chio (vault), Missouri’s Helen Hu (beam), and UCLA's Jordan Chiles (uneven bars) and Brooklyn Moors (floor) as national apparatus champions.

"Just truly a fairytale ending," Bowers said on the ABC broadcast. "I'm so freaking proud of this team, and I'm so proud to be a Sooner."



Stanford Breaks NCAA Softball Attendance Record with ‘Big Swing’

An NCAA record crowd watches Stanford softball host Cal in the school's football stadium on Saturday.
Stanford welcomed over 13,000 fans to their record-setting Saturday game against Cal. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Stanford shattered the NCAA softball attendance record this weekend, welcoming 13,207 fans inside the university’s football stadium for Saturday's "Big Swing"  game against Cal.

In the most-attended non-football contest in Stanford Athletics' history, the Cardinal softball crowd surpassed the sport's previous attendance record of 12,566, set on the first day of the 2024 Women's College World Series (WCWS) in Oklahoma City.

The history-making game also blew past the NCAA softball regular-season record of 9,259 fans, a feat reached less than two weeks ago when reigning champions Oklahoma defeated local rivals Oklahoma State on April 9th.

"It was kind of like a mini College World Series experience," Stanford junior outfielder Kyra Chan said after the game.

Despite dropping the record-breaking matchup 10-8 to their new ACC rivals, No. 16 Stanford ultimately secured the three-game series against the Golden Bears with wins on Thursday and Friday.

Friday's 9-3 victory was particularly impactful, clinching the Cardinal a spot in their first-ever ACC championship tournament next month — the first postseason stop as Stanford hunts a third-straight appearance in the WCWS semifinals.

Nebraska volleyball lines up on the court for the August 2023 Volleyball Day in the university's football stadium.
Nebraska volleyball broke the overall US women's sports attendance record in 2023. (Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

Stanford softball fuels argument for larger women's sports venues

Softball isn't the only sport leading the recent surge in record-breaking NCAA women's sports crowds.

After shifting a volleyball match into its football stadium in August 2023, Nebraska welcomed not just the sport's biggest crowd, but the largest to ever attend any women's sporting event in the US.

Shortly thereafter, Iowa's "Crossover at Kinnick" blasted through the NCAA women's basketball attendance mark by moving an exhibition game featuring the Caitlin Clark-led Hawkeyes into the university's football venue.

Though the move to massive football stadiums was intentional to snag both Nebraska's and Iowa's respective records, Stanford's venue shift was not initially an attendance-hunting move.

The Cardinal's entire 2025 softball season is being played on the gridiron as the team's new $50 million stadium and state-of-the-art training facility is under construction.

Taking advantage of that added capacity was a no-brainer, with Stanford specifically branding and marketing their rivalry "Big Swing" game to capitalize on their temporary digs — and to continue making the overall case for expanding women's sports' venues.

"I think that you see a consistent theme that there aren't big enough venues for women's sports to be able to draw the fans that they can draw," Stanford softball head coach Jessica Allister pointed out.

"Hopefully, a lot of people who showed up to Stanford for the first time to watch a softball game will come back and see us in our beautiful stadium."

Missing Rodman, Injury-Struck Washington Downs 2024 NWSL Champ Orlando

Washington Spirit forward Makenna Morris celebrates striker Gift Monday's game-winning goal against Orlando on Saturday.
Gift Monday scored the lone goal in Washington's Saturday. win over Orlando. (Rich Storry/NWSL via Getty Images)

The Washington Spirit scored another unlikely victory on Saturday, snapping the Orlando Pride's 22-game home unbeaten streak with a narrow 1-0 win — fueled by newly signed Nigerian striker Gift Monday's debut NWSL goal.

"We knew it was going to be a fight," Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury said after the game. "We know they're physical, so we came [and] we matched that."

Washington continues to eke out wins despite a depleted roster, with a full 11 players unavailable for Saturday’s 2024 NWSL championship rematch due to injury.

At the top of that injury list is star forward Trinity Rodman, with the 22-year-old's agent telling The Washington Post that she's "taking time away from team activities" to meet with a club doctor in London about her lingering back issues.

Other noteworthy absences to the Spirit's current lineup include 2024 NWSL Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune (hip), defensive midfielder Hal Hershfelt (ankle), veteran defender Casey Krueger (knee), and French forward Ouleye Sarr (SEI – back).

Washington, however, continues finding ways to win, with the Spirit sitting third in the league standings, where they're tied with second-place Orlando on points.

That said, despite flipping the script against the reigning champs, the Spirit's roster woes — and, in particular, Rodman’s uncertain timeline — casts a shadow over the club's 2025 redemption tour.

Kansas City's Kayla Sharples celebrates a goal with her teammates on Saturday.
Kansas City is the only remaining unbeaten team in the 2025 NWSL season. (Jamie Squire/NWSL via Getty Images)

Kansas City rises atop the NWSL

Also benefitting from the Spirit's win was the Kansas City Current, who used both Washington's victory and their own comfortable 2-0 result against the 10th-place Houston Dash on Saturday to leapfrog the Pride and claim first place on the NWSL table.

With five wins in as many matchdays, the Current are now the league's only undefeated team remaining this season.

Angel City Falls to Gotham, Ends NWSL Unbeaten Streak

Alanna Kennedy and her Angel City teammates react to their first 2025 NWSL loss on Friday.
Angel City fell to Gotham in their first loss of the 2025 NWSL season on Friday. (Harry How/NWSL via Getty Images)

After a red-hot start to the 2025 NWSL season, Angel City saw their unbeaten streak squashed by a Gotham side that defeated the LA club 4-0 on Friday.

Failing to register a single shot on target against the NJ/NY club, ACFC's loss dropped their goal differential to -1, dropping the team to fifth on the NWSL table despite sitting tied with the now fourth-place Gotham on points.

Angel City's unexpected moonshot in the season's first four matchdays is still a strong sign for the 2022 expansion club, but Friday’s stumble underlines just how much more progress they’ll look to make under incoming manager Alexander Straus.

"We have a really young squad right now," said Angel City captain Sarah Gorden following the game. "And we just played a really experienced team. This is part of the process, and it's part of a long season."

Gotham's Esther and Jessica Silva high-five after defeating Angel City 4-0 on Friday.
Esther notched a brace in Gotham's 4-0 Friday victory. (Harry How/NWSL via Getty Images)

Gotham snags momentum with second major 2025 win

Bolstered by star forward Midge Purce's return — not to mention a brace from striker Esther — Saturday's win returned 2024 NWSL semifinalist Gotham to the league's upper echelon following an offseason roster overhaul and a mediocre 2025 season start.

Along with a victory over North Carolina last week, the NJ/NY club now holds significant season momentum with their two straight statement wins.

"We've been working very hard in training, and it's showing in the matches," said Esther. "Everyone is giving their all, and we're really united as a group."

Ultimately, while Angel City’s growing pains were perhaps inevitable, Gotham’s sudden surge after a slow start is shaking up the NWSL standings.

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