Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The Women's Professional Lacrosse League yesterday announced 37 players that will participate in a Sept. 30 exhibition at Tierney Field in Sparks, Md. All five WPLL franchises are represented, and the 2 p.m. exhibition will be streamed live by Lax Sports Network.
The exhibition roster includes several U.S. team players, among them Taylor Cummings and Brooke Griffin. The showcase game will be preceded by a "Legends Game" at 12:30 p.m. during which the WPLL will honor some 80 players and coaches.
"The weekend’s events allow us to thank players from the past, welcome players from the present, and show high quality lacrosse to the players of the future," said Michele DeJuliis, CEO and founder of the WPLL.
As one of many benefits of membership in US Lacrosse, members of the sport's national governing body can experience Lax Sports Network free for 90 days.
2. The United Women's Lacrosse League has moved forward with a partnership with 3d Lacrosse which entails the latter taking over all aspects of the league's operations, with continued support from Nike and STX. The UWLX completed its second season in August as the Long Island Sound won its second consecutive league championship.
Kristan Ash, a former player at Gettysburg and currently coaching Riverside (Va.) High School and within 3d's Mid-Atlantic area, is the new general manager of the league. She's joined on a new board of commissioners by several prominent women's lacrosse figures, including National Hall of Famer Gary Gait and Long Island, N.Y., coaching legend Carol Rainson-Rose.
"There’s been a lot of work that has gone on behind the scenes and with the strong partnerships of STX and Nike the UWLX’s future is bright," Ash said.
The UWLX will conduct a supplemental draft Sept. 30 and college player draft in the winter. Boston celebrated the return of one top player.
Huge player signing! We welcome back @unitedwlax All-Star, 4X @CuseWLAX All-American and #Nike athlete Kayla Treanor! #uwlx #bostonstorm pic.twitter.com/TPJCw1RETX
— Boston Storm (@bostonstormlx) September 20, 2017
3. Vincent Ricasio, an artist with The Art of Lax, supplied a guest column on and drawing of friend and coaching colleague Brooks Sweet in advance of the latter's Saturday enshrinement into the National Hall of Fame. Sweet earned All-World Team honors while leading Team USA to the gold medal in the 1982 then-ILF World Championship, for which he was named the event's best attackman. Sweet scored seven goals to pace the Americans in a 22-14 win over Australia.
Sweet, a first-team collegiate All-American at UMass in the late 1970s, will join Doug Knight, Leslie Blankin Lane, Jim McDonald, Laurette Payette, Casey Powell, Jill Johnson Redfern, Robyn Nye Wood and Don Zimmerman as inductees Saturday in a sold-out ceremony at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley, Md. Read more on this year's class.
4. Closure can be rare following the sudden death of a young person. And while some may never feel it, the family of the late Jack Dowd of Holmdel (N.J.) High School authored a heartfelt letter to the community after it had spoken with the medical examiner. The letter provides the cause of death of Dowd, 16, who collapsed Sunday during a scrimmage at Rutgers University. He never regained consciousness.
Thoughts and prayers continue for Jack's family and friends.