Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. All signs point to Tobacco Road.
Duke’s men and North Carolina’s women sit atop the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s and Women’s Preseason Top 20 rankings, respectively. US Lacrosse Magazine released the lists Wednesday.
Both teams were active in the offseason, landing the top transfers in the portal and bringing back the majority of their seniors for another go around.
2. Former U.S. national team player Alyssa Murray was named a candidate for The World Games “Greatest Athlete of All Time” award — an acknowledgement of Murray’s team- and tournament-best 19 points in the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
3. The IWLCA concluded its first-ever coaching symposium for students of color, “Future Leaders of the Game,” on Tuesday. Cincinnati coach Gina Oliver Thomas, the former U.S. national team player and two-time world champion, was the keynote speaker.
The symposium is part of an effort to diversify the pool of coaches in women’s lacrosse. Shenandoah assistant Taylor Paige, who is Black, wrote about why representation matters in the latest installment of “Behind the Whistle,” the IWLCA blog.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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About SquadLocker, the custom apparel and equipment purchasing solution that recently signed on as the official supplier for the US Lacrosse National Team Development Program.
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From our friends at Inside Lacrosse, columns by North Carolina women’s lacrosse player Katie Hoeg and ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich on chasing dreams and overcoming adversity, respectively.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
The long line of lacrosse people pulling for Chris Bocklet, represented in a nearly four-minute video posted by the Virginia men’s lacrosse team on Twitter.
The Family is a ...
— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) January 6, 2021
Get Well @CRockN10 #GoHoos
How2Help: https://t.co/1f8gRKQ7gF pic.twitter.com/gIrjhVWFJZ
Bocklet, the former three-time All-American attackman at UVA who suffered a severe head injury in a longboarding accident, is the subject of a spirited GoFundMe campaign that has now raised more than $175,000.
Bocklet’s sister, Casey, also a former All-American lacrosse player at Virginia, posted an update about his condition on Instagram, saying he was able to FaceTime with family and had been admitted to the Shepherd Center’s brain injury rehabilitation program.
Great UPDATE on @CRockN10 pic.twitter.com/M0QDP2UbsM
— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) January 6, 2021
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The latest story in our partnership with Blaxers Blog.
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From our January edition, Nelson Rice’s feature on Duke’s Michael Sowers, the US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year as seen in the eyes of his newest teammates.