Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Boston College, Northwestern and Liberty were the big winners Wednesday. All three were victorious on the road.
The top-ranked Eagles surged in the second half to defeat No. 13 Virginia 22-15 in Charlottesville, the fifth-ranked Wildcats survived a furious rally to beat Notre Dame 17-16 in South Bend and the Flames toppled No. 20 Virginia Tech 15-14 in overtime — their first-ever win in the series.
2. North Carolina bounced back from a blowout loss to Ohio State with a 14-11 win over Brown thanks largely to a pair of former high school teammates whose chemistry showed up in clutch time.
3. Lindenwood announced Wednesday that it will reclassify to Division I starting in 2022-23. The school’s lacrosse teams have become fixtures in the national rankings, with the women capturing the NCAA Division II championship just last spring.
4. National Lacrosse League commissioner Nick Sakiewicz is stepping down after this season, the league announced Wednesday. Hired in 2016, Sakiewicz has overseen a period of unprecedented growth for the NLL, which expanded from nine to 15 teams, established a successful media platform and increased revenue 700 percent over the last five seasons.
5. USA Lacrosse named the final U.S. women’s national team roster for the World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship, which will be held June 29-July 9 at Towson. Among the 18 players are six who suited up when the U.S. won gold in 2017 as well as three current collegians.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Why Bobby Gavin really left Virginia for Syracuse — a juicy storyline entering this weekend’s clash between the ACC rivals in Charlottesville.
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Hitch fakes, shot placement, sticks in lanes, crashing free positions and gutsy ground balls — Taylor Cummings’ takes on the little points of emphasis that make a huge difference in college women’s lacrosse.
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Lacrosse Reference’s Zack Capozzi examines, statistically of course, the Division I women’s lacrosse teams that have made the biggest leaps from 2021 to 2022.
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An IWLCA “Behind the Whistle” entry from Cornell’s Ashleigh Gundy, who writes about being the inaugural recipient of the Tina Sloan Green Award and being a minority in a predominantly white sport.
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Rankings updates from the NAIA (men and women), MCLA (Division I and Division II) and WCLA (Division II)
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Dave Pietramala, assistant coach in name only, addressing the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team ahead of Saturday’s showdown in Charlottesville.
We continue our gauntlet of a schedule this week.
— Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) February 23, 2022
But we've prepared for the toughness. pic.twitter.com/IlqYkNqO19
WHAT’S ON TAP
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Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are having a moment in lacrosse right now — and yet there’s still work to do. Matt Hamilton with a Black History Month feature.
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More news and notes from around college men’s and women’s lacrosse.