The youngest of four children, Zinsner was the first of her siblings to attend Holy Cross, but she was not the first Division I athlete. Her sister, Addie, was a member of the lacrosse team at Yale. Her older brother, Teddy, played on the golf team at Yale, while her other brother, P.J., was on the lacrosse team at North Carolina.
“Lacrosse was always a big part of my life growing up,” Zinsner said. “My siblings and I would play 1v1 in the back yard as far back as I can remember, and I would always go along to watch them play in their games. It is really fun now, since I’m the only one still playing college sports, to have three little coaches on my side to offer me advice after our games.”
Even with all of that family support, Zinsner encountered an unexpected challenge during her freshman season. Just two days before the team’s first scrimmage, she suffered a serious knee injury that would keep her on the sidelines for the next year.
“That was a really tough time for me,” Zinsner said. “It’s a really debilitating thing to have your leg give out on you. I had to go from being a teammate and a competitor to just being a teammate. I also had to do a lot of rehab work, whether it was getting extra treatment or doing strength exercises. It was difficult to handle at the time, but now I’m able to appreciate that experience. I know to just be happy that I get to play lacrosse with a great, supportive team around me.”
