By: Ansley Rice
Kennesaw State women's lacrosse added thirteen newcomers for the upcoming season, and one of those 13 was Jordyn Olivo who easily had the most unique experience of the incoming freshman this summer. Olivo was a member of the Puerto Rican women's national team that competed in the 2022 Women's World Lacrosse Championships, held in Towson, Md. at Towson University.
After spending the summer training with the Puerto Rican women's national team, the freshman attack is excited to see how the World Games prepared her for collegiate lacrosse. The Buford, Ga. native, who was a star player for Buford High, first played for Puerto Rico in the Pan-American Lacrosse Association's women's World Championship qualifier in 2020. "My dad saw that there were tryouts for the Puerto Rican team, and he told me that I should try out," Olivo said. "I can represent Puerto Rico because my dad's parents are from the islands so I give the credit to him for helping me get started on my way onto the team."
After her debut in the qualifier, the all-county selection was invited to try out for the team in Oct. 2021, where she earned her spot on the team for the 2022 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship. Olivo trained with the team for a year building up to the tournament but a knee injury three weeks prior to the event kept her from participating in the World Cup. The Division I Varsity Georgia All-Star honoree continued training and traveled with the team to the World Cup in Towson, Md. There, Olivo gained a new perspective on her sport while traveling and watching all the national teams play.
"The level of competition helped prepare me to play against better girls, and I feel that's going to help get me ready for my first year at the college level," says the first team all-state attack. "It was cool getting to see lacrosse from a different view."
Olivo is grateful to have trained with a team that helped develop her into a stronger competitor, to be on a team that helped her learn about her culture and to be able to represent her family and country.
"It was huge to be able to represent all of the people on the islands that could not play or were not able to make it to the games to represent the country," Olivo said. "It was really awesome to represent my dad and honor my grandpa who passed away a few years ago"
The undecided freshman is excited to be a part of the Owls squad, to explore her education options and make new friends in college. She is ready to see what experiences are in store at Kennesaw State.
