Professional PLL
06:00 PM
Jul 19
Phi
Den
Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. May Madness is here.
The NCAA Division III men’s lacrosse tournament kicked off Tuesday with the first round of games. John Carroll and Misericordia emerged victorious for their first-ever NCAA wins.
John Carroll topped Albion 14-9 in just their second NCAA tournament appearance thanks to a team-best seven goals from Declan O’Grady.
Led by Chris Fleming’s two goals and two assists, Misericordia defeated Lasell 9-7.
"We're on the map now,” said Misericordia coach Jim Ricardo. “We play hard for four quarters, we don't give up and we believe in each other. … It was a great opening round of the NCAA tournament. We're privileged to be here and we're excited for round two."
2. In this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse college rankings, Maryland, Limestone and Salisbury ascend to No. 1 in Division I, II and III men’s lacrosse, respectively, while Maryland, Adelphi and William Smith sit at the top of their respective women’s lacrosse divisions.
In Division I, the biggest movers were Army and Ohio State on the men’s side and James Madison, Northwestern and Princeton on the women’s side.
A look at the major-college and junior-college polls released this week:
NIKE/USL RANKINGS
MD1 | WD1 | MD2 | WD2 | MD3 | WD3
MAVERIK/IL MEDIA POLLS
MD1 | WD1
USILA POLLS
MD1 | MD2 | MD3
IWLCA POLLS
WD1 | WD2 | WD3
JUNIOR COLLEGE MEN
3. In this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse high school rankings, the No. 1 and 2 seeds in both the boys’ and girls’ polls remain undefeated as they cruise through their schedules – No. 1 Landon (Md.) and No. 2 Darien (Conn.) boys, plus McDonogh (Md.) and Ridgewood (N.J.) girls.
4. The Epoch/US Lacrosse Players of the Week are Yale’s Ben Reeves and Princeton’s Olivia Hompe.
At the high school level, high-scoring affairs led to the following boys and girls being honored – Christian Paley (Somers), Sean MacKinney (Bridgewater-Raritan), Nick DeFrancesco (Panther Creek), Kavan Braun (Cathedral), Asher Nolting (Cherry Creek), Haley Connaughton and Alexandra Finn (Westwood), Zoe Belodeau (St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes), Charlotte North (Episcopal School Dallas), Naomi Rogge (Eden Prairie) and Catriona Barry (St. Ignatius Prep).
What We’re Reading
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While No. 1 Maryland may have a tough pod in the NCAA tournament, coach John Tillman noted his team should not look past the first round.
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Meanwhile, the Towson men are hoping to use its NCAA tournament experience to its advantage.
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Despite not making the NCAA tournament, Virginia Tech has made great strides under new head coach John Sung, the school said.
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Rory and Conor Whipple are a successful father-son duo at the University of Tampa.
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Former Middlebury coach Erin Quinn reflects on his coaching career, which included six national title game appearances, and his shift to the school’s athletic director in 2006.
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In a special for the Catholic Review, Gary Lambrect writes about the Notre Dame Prep girls’ lacrosse seniors, who all will continue playing at a Division I or III school after making National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s National Academic Squad last fall.
What We’re Watching
The MCLA National Championship, powered by Under Armour, kicked off on Monday. Quarterfinals were played on Tuesday, semifinals take place on Thursday and the championship will be on Saturday. Stay up to date with the results and check out the action from the first round below.
Check out the first round action from The @MCLA National tournament powered by @underarmour. #IWILL pic.twitter.com/b4yZUr1AZS
— UA Lacrosse (@UALacrosse) May 9, 2017
What’s On Tap
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The 16-team WCLA Division I tournament begins today in Salt Lake City, Utah with No. 1 Pittsburgh kicking it off with a tilt against No. 16 Western Washington.
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The NCAA Division III men’s tournament continues with 16 second round games from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.