Last year, Kayleigh Page of Georgia was named the WCLA’s attacker of the year and was also winner of the Amtahcha Award as the WCLA’s national player of the year. As a two-time All-American, Page returns for her senior season this spring hoping to lead the Bulldogs in their pursuit of a national club championship. USA Lacrosse recently spoke with Page about the 2026 season.
Q – Why do you enjoy playing collegiate club lacrosse?
“Being able to do lacrosse and still having time to do other things is college has been so rewarding. Playing on a WCLA team requires a lot less time commitment than playing on a varsity team, allowing time for Greek life, other clubs, and still having time to focus on academics. You don’t feel like you are missing out. It’s so rewarding.”
Q – How competitive is WCLA lacrosse?
“I think its super competitive because there are a lot of girls on these teams that used to play D-1 lacrosse, or could have played D-1 lacrosse, and they are really talented. They all have their reasons for choosing to go to a school that either doesn’t have a varsity team, or does have a varsity team and they choose to play club lacrosse instead. Personally, I didn’t want to go to a school just because of lacrosse. I loved Georgia, and when I got accepted and found out they had a club lacrosse team, I was pretty happy because I wasn’t ready to give up lacrosse yet. It has worked out perfectly.”
Q – Are you involved in your club’s leadership?
“Yes, I’m a team captain and I’m also the club’s vice-president for fund raising. At Georgia, we are a player-led team, so the captains basically run the practices and do a lot of the planning for the season, including game schedules and social events for the team.”
Q – Are there any matchups in 2026 that you are especially excited to play?
“I always love playing against Florida State; they are a really fun team. It’s a bunch of great girls and we usually meet them afterwards and have a great time, wherever we are. I also love playing Boston College and Clemson because they are both really big challenges for us, but that’s how we grow as a team. The competition in those games is really high level.”
Q – Georgia has been in the national semifinals in each of your three seasons but hasn’t won the championship since 2016. What makes the national tournament so challenging?
“It’s really the competitive level of all the teams and the girls who are there. There’s really no room for error. In that tournament environment (single-elimination format), if you mess up you don’t get a second chance. It’s hard to get there, and sometimes it can get into your head, where we start overthinking and forget to just have fun. And when that happens, it takes us away from just playing our game.”
Q – Being part of a club that qualifies for the national tournament almost every year, tell us a little bit about that experience?
“I always enjoy it because it’s typically our last hurrah for the season. It usually comes after school is out for the year, so I get to travel to a different city with some of my best friends and have fun. You play a ton of games and you get tired, but you’re motivated by being national champions, so that’s what keeps you going. I’m hoping we make it into that Top 16 and get another chance again this year.”
The Road to Naples
The 2026 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championship Tournament will be played May 11-16 at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples, Florida. For more information, visit www.usalacrosse.org/wcla. You can also follow all the action of the 2026 WCLA season at www.wcla.club.
