Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. One of professional lacrosse’s all-time greats formally announced his retirement on Wednesday, as Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian penned a letter on the Premier Lacrosse League’s Instagram account to call it quits.
He had previously retired from Major League Lacrosse in 2017 but came out of retirement to play for Redwoods LC in the PLL’s inaugural season. Read about his announcement here.
2. Staff writer Nelson Rice took a deep dive on the life of lacrosse led by Toru Morimatsu, a Japanese national team player who recently moved from Tokyo to Vancouver to play box lacrosse and advance his skill set. He's also sparked a friendship with U.S. senior team player Matt McMahon. It’s a must-read that you can find here.
3. The Johns Hopkins defense was so suspect last season that head coach Dave Pietramala entered this fall with zero guaranteed starters on that end of the field. Despite that, the Hopkins men check in at No. 8 in our preseason ranks. Read more here.
4. The Michigan women were unexpectedly great in 2019. Caitlin Muir, Molly Garrett and Maggie Kane have the Wolverines, ranked No. 9 in the preseason, on the cusp of establishing themselves as a perennial contender. Read why here.