A handful of women on Northwestern University's national championship women's lacrosse team have found themselves in the middle of a national fashion don't.

A photo taken of the NCAA champs revealed four of the nine women in the front row wore flip-flop sandals along with their appropriate dress and skirt attire.

A front-page story in the Chicago Tribune included the headline "YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE?!" quoted from an e-mail sent to player Kate Darmody from her older brother after he saw the photo on the team's Web site.

Family members of other players expressed similar disapproval, feeling the footwear was too casual for a visit with the president.

In response, the mother of player Aly Josephs stated, "Don't even ask me about the flip-flops. It mortified me."

During an appearance Monday on NBC's "Today Show," Darmody and teammate Shelby Chlopak says the team planned to auction off the flip-flops they wore to the White House - proceeds will go toward a fund for a 10-year-old girl with a brain tumor.

The women stand by their choice, despite the rampant denouncements, Josephs says, "Nobody was wearing old beach flip-flops." Josephs who wore a $16 brown pair with rhinestones.

Darmody, 22, added: "I tried to think of something that would go well with my outfit and at the same time not be that uncomfortable. But at the same time not disrespect the White House."