Ponte Vedra grad Anna Taraboletti finds success with Vanderbilt women's lacrosse team
Anna Taraboletti wasn’t sure how much playing time she’d see during her freshman season on the Vanderbilt women’s lacrosse team.
The 2023 Ponte Vedra High grad had plenty of promise, but she was also joining a highly-competitive program loaded with talent.
It didn’t take long for her to fit in.
Taraboletti earned more playing time as the year has gone on, including at a position she wasn’t all that familiar with.
“[Due to the injuries] my coaches made a decision to put me on attack, which was a fun experience for me, because I've never played attack before,” she said. “I’ve been a midfielder my whole life. So, I started the games as attack. I started our first game. And then a few after that.”
As her first season winds down, Taraboletti has 10 goals, playing in all 13 games, starting five.
Her Ponte Vedra High coach, Dan Toole, isn’t surprised by her early success.
He was Taraboletti’s first-ever coach at the youth level and her last in high school before she moved on to play at Vanderbilt.
Toole watched Taraboletti grow throughout the years, not only as a player but as a person as well.
“She really set the standard of what we hoped a Ponte Vedra lacrosse player would be, starting from the youth organization all the way through,” Toole said.
When it came time for Taraboletti to choose a college, it was a tough choice because of the top-notch options in front of her.
She was recruited by Denver, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, among others.
But she only saw one school as the perfect fit.
“Vanderbilt had everything I wanted, and also the people and culture that's cultivated here, just through the team and the coaches and everything. It's awesome,” she said. “Vanderbilt was the perfect combination of academics and athletics.”
Highlights of her first college season include scoring a hat trick in a 17-16 win over Butler on Feb. 21.
Her success can be traced back to her youth and high school days playing lacrosse, where she got excellent training and played tough opponents.
“I'm not surprised that she's doing well, but I'm extremely proud and watch her play. All of us that have watched her, this is the Anna that we’ve always seen and knew that she was going to succeed at the next level,” he said. “What's really impressive is that she's done it so quickly already and she’s still gonna just keep getting better. She’s just scratching the surface.”
Vanderbilt (8-7) has one more regular season game remaining, Saturday, April 27, at home against Cincinnati.
After that, the AAC Tournament begins May 2.
Taraboletti has loved every second of her first season with the Commodores. She looks forward to be able to continue to grow as a person and in the sport she loves.
“It's been great, I feel like I have gotten everything I've asked for in a freshman season,” she said. “I wanted to be able to come in and play and contribute and also play my role on the team. I know, that's not always field time. So just [being able to] contribute wherever I can. All my coaches and teammates are super supportive, and I think they've helped me grow throughout the fall, and then continuing into the spring as a player and a person.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Vanderbilt lacrosse player Anna Taraboletti making Ponte Vedra proud
