1. Selection Sunday has passed and we finally got to see the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament brackets.
Let’s start on the men’s side, where Maryland grabbed the top seed despite falling to Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten final on Saturday. The Terps will face the winner of Robert Morris and Canisius in the first round.
Surprises? There were a few. Villanova shocked some by being the last team into the NCAA tournament field, while Rutgers, Ohio State and Bucknell did not hear their names called.
FULL BRACKET: @TerpsMLax get the seed and will face either @RMUMLacrosse or @GriffsMLax in the first round. Who's ready for May Madness? pic.twitter.com/Q3cZLrUwKe
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 7, 2018
Click here for a full breakdown of the Division I, II and III brackets.
2. Maryland completed the sweep by taking the top seed in the NCAA Division I women’s tournament. Megan Whittle’s eight goals in the final helped the Terps win the Big Ten.
North Carolina took the No. 2 seed and CAA champion James Madison earned the third seed. As for Stony Brook, the undefeated No. 1 team in the Nike/US Lacrosse Women’s Top 20? The Seawolves got the fifth seed, and will have to get by fourth-seeded Boston College to make it home for the final four.
Check out more bracket analysis today.
May Madness is here. Check out the full #NCAAWLAX Division I bracket with @MarylandWLax taking the top seed. @NCAALAX bracket analysis coming Monday. pic.twitter.com/4MH7vMIglq
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 7, 2018
3. Conference championship weekend did not disappoint.
There were more than a few compelling conference tournament championships over the weekend. Although the Terps got the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Johns Hopkins got revenge in the second meeting of the rivalry in the Big Ten title game. Cole Williams had five goals and an assist, and Kyle Marr had three goals and two assists to lead the way for the Blue Jays in Ann Arbor.
Cornell entered the last weekend firmly on the bubble, and got by Brown to set up an Ivy League title game matchup with defending champion Yale. Christian Knight had 16 saves and Jeff Teat had a goal and five assists to lead the Big Red to the Ivy League championship, punching their ticket with a 14-6 win. Knight had a tournament-record 35 saves to win MVP honors.
.@CornellLacrosse IS IN Big Red conquer the Big Apple with a 14-8 win over @YaleLacrosse to earn the @IvyLeague title and an automatic bid into the @NCAALAX tournament.
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 6, 2018
And so the bubble shrinks once more..... pic.twitter.com/6rjaEhgn40
In the Big East, Georgetown upset Villanova in the semifinals to meet Denver in the championship game — one the Hoyas had to win to play on. Nick Marrocco had 14 saves to shut down the Pioneers offense en route to a 8-3 upset victory. Georgetown coach Kevin Warne couldn’t hold back after his team rushed the field to celebrate.
The power of sports. Incredible emotion shown by @HoyasMLacrosse coach @KWarne34 after Georgetown beats Denver 8-3 to win the @BIGEAST championship and secure a bid to the @NCAALAX tournament (video courtesy CBS Sports Network) pic.twitter.com/X77LR4clD4
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) May 5, 2018
In other conference title games, overtime was the theme. Richmond earned its bid with a Teddy Hatfield game-winner over Jacksonville in the SoCon, Robert Morris upset Saint Joseph’s on a Tyson Ribson goal with 10 seconds left in overtime and Canisius completed an unlikely run through the MAAC tournament with a thrilling overtime win over Detroit Mercy. The Titans won the opening faceoff, but Mathieu Boissoneault picked off the ensuing pass and the rest is magic.
Wild ending to @MAACSports championship. Detroit wins faceoff to start OT, but turns it over and Mathieu Boissonneault scores on the empty net to punch @GriffsMLax to @NCAALAX tourney with 10-9 win. pic.twitter.com/PWmYjSn46j
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 5, 2018
4. In women’s action, big performances stole the show. Whittle tied her career high with eight goals in the Big Ten win over Penn State. Florida’s Lindsey Ronbeck dropped eight goals in the Big East semifinal and added seven goals and an assist in the championship game win over Denver. Julia Collins scored six goals and had an assist to help Navy upset Loyola in the Patriot League championship and jump off the NCAA bubble.
Megan Whittle have a day. She scores her EIGHTH goal to set a new career high and help @MarylandWLax take a 15-7 lead on @PennStateWLAX. pic.twitter.com/sqLBkdCCxt
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 6, 2018
James Madison made it two straight wins over Towson to seal the CAA title. Katie Kerrigan had six assists to fuel the Dukes' 16-10 victory. Princeton scored the final three goals to pull away from Penn to take home the Ivy League title.
5. The Charlotte Hounds are the hottest team in the MLL. They swept through two weekend games, slipping past the Chesapeake Bayhawks 14-13 on Friday and following it up with a 14-10 win over the defending champion Ohio Machine to move to 4-0.
Michael Ehrhardt’s two fourth-quarter goals fueled Friday’s win, while Matt Rambo’s hat trick led the Hounds to their fourth win of the year on Sunday.
In the NLL, the Rochester Knighthawks and Calgary Roughnecks are moving on in the playoffs. The Knighthawks got past the New England Black Wolves 15-11 in the East Division semifinal to set up a meeting with the top-seeded Georgia Swarm. The Roughnecks took down the Colorado Mammoth 15-12 in the West Division semifinals to advance to face the Saskatchewan Rush in the division finals.
6. Sad news that broke late last night: Flip Naumburg, the longtime Colorado State men’s lacrosse coach and a pioneer for the sport in the West, passed away. Naumburg was one of the founders of the popular Vail Lacrosse Shootout, creator of the offset head and Rock-It Pocket and the winningest coach in CSU history.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Ray Antwone Glasgow II, a 17-year-old longpole and captain at Baltimore City College (Md.), was killed in a shooting on Saturday night — just days before he was to compete in the Division A City Championship game. Remembering a smart player gone too soon.
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Canisius coach Mark Miyashita had injected structure and positivity in the program he once led as a player, and it’s paying off as the Golden Griffins head toward the NCAA tournament.
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Jake Rudd, 14, and Kathleen O’Connor, 22, are both battling cancer. This summer, they’ll team up with Team USA’s Tom Schreiber to support the HEADStrong Foundation in the National Lax-Off Against Cancer.
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The Washington Post remembers late Maryland coach Dick Edell.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Penn State is dancing, both in the tournament and on the field. Check out these cellys from the Big Ten tournament.
.@PennStateWLAX’s celly game is and the play on the field is matching. Nittany Lions lead @NULax 14-8 in the second @bigten semifinal. Winner takes on Maryland. pic.twitter.com/HXDf2IuvHo
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 5, 2018
Cornell’s Jake Pulver had enough of the 10-man ride and launched a 55-yard laser in the Big Red’s Ivy League title game win over Yale.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN. Jake Pulver with a LASER from about 55 yards out to give @CornellLacrosse a 9-6 lead. Now 10-6 with 12:24 left. pic.twitter.com/CB7ltO4FQH
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 6, 2018
For teams sitting on the NCAA bubble, hearing their names announced as part of the field was a big deal. Just watch Villanova men’s and Denver women’s reaction to the news.
.@NovaLacrosse is pretttty happy about making it into the @NCAALAX tournament. pic.twitter.com/PLjHNZdrUH
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 7, 2018
That magic moment... WE’RE IN! pic.twitter.com/vi3XfOeq1h
— DU_WLAX (@DU_WLAX) May 7, 2018
WHAT’S ON TAP
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We'll have in-depth analysis of both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament brackets coming today.
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College rankings are also out today, for the last time until after Memorial Day.