Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Memorial Day Weekend starts early in women’s lacrosse.
Cut out of work early. We’ll know at least one of the Division I women’s finalists before the closing bell sounds. North Carolina and Northwestern kick off the sport’s biggest weekend at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, a time moved up because of impending inclement weather in Baltimore. The previous two national champions, Maryland and Boston College, follow at 3 p.m.
Taylor Cummings gives one last look at the Final Four teams in her weekly column.
2. The Division I men’s Final Four is this weekend, and Maryland is more than a heavy favorite.
The Terps are drawing comparisons to other seemingly invincible teams, like the 1990 Syracuse and 2006 Virginia squads. “There is no weakness, man,” said High Point head coach Jon Torpey.
The Terps play Princeton Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the second national semifinal game. The winner will play Rutgers or Cornell in Monday’s title game. The Scarlet Knights and Big Red square off Saturday at noon. Both games are on ESPN2. Full TV listings for the weekend are here.
3. IWLCA announces its Division I, II and III All-Americans.
In Division I, Maryland and North Carolina lead the way with three first-team selections. UNC attacker Jamie Ortega, midfielder Ally Mastroianni and defender Emma Trenchard made the cut.
Maryland’s first-team honorees are attacker Aurora Cordingley, defender Abby Bosco and goalie Emily Sterling.
Tewaaraton Award finalists and attackers Meaghan Tyrrell (Syracuse) and Charlotte North (Boston College) were also on the first team.
4. USILA also unveiled its All-Americans.
Twelve Terps were named All-Americans, including first-team selections in attacker Logan Wisnauskas, short-stick defensive midfielder Roman Puglise and face-off specialist Luke Wierman.
Georgetown also boasted three first-team picks in midfielder Graham Bundy, Jr., goalie Owen McElroy and short-stick defensive midfielder Zachary Geddes.
Tewaaraton Award finalists Chris Gray (A, UNC), Connor Shellenberger (A, Virginia) and Sam Handley, Jr. (M, Penn) also made the first team.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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From Acacia to Zero, here is your A to Z guide to the women’s Final Four.
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Madison Doucette had herself a day against Syracuse in the quarterfinals. The Northwestern graduate student made 11 stops and held the Orange to four goals, their fewest of the season. Then, her real work started — the Engineering Design Innovation master’s student had a project to finish. When she finally got a free moment, Doucette spoke to Charlotte Varnes about her life on and off the field.
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Gettysburg head coach Carol Cantele is hanging up her whistle this year. But first, she’s enjoying one last ride to the Final Four.
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The Maryland women are returning to the sport’s biggest stage for the first time since winning it all in 2019. The Washington Post details the graduate students determined to end their careers on top.
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The pandemic offered Ronan Jacoby, who led Wesleyan to a Division III national title in 2018, a chance to play for Rutgers. This weekend, he’ll take the field in his home state of Connecticut and try to lead the Scarlet Knights to their first national title. Jacoby attended Glastonbury High School. The Hartford Courant discusses Jacoby’s unique journey back to MDW.
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George Baughan is a fiery force for the Princeton defense.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Maryland got an enthusiastic send-off as it hit the road for the short trip from College Park to Baltimore Wednesday.
Next stop, Championship Weekend pic.twitter.com/N39GHLMrad
— Maryland Women's Lacrosse (@MarylandWLax) May 25, 2022
WHAT’S ON TAP
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The women’s Division I title game is Sunday at noon on ESPN.
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The men’s Division I championship is slated for Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
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The Division III men’s championship concludes Sunday when Union and RIT square off at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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The Division III women’s semifinals are Saturday. Middlebury plays Gettysburg at noon, and TCNJ and Tufts follow at 3 p.m. The title game is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. All games can be watched on NCAA.com.
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Mercy and Tampa face off in the Division II men’s lacrosse championship Sunday at 4 p.m. on NCAA.com.