Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20s released yesterday maintained the same top-ranked squads for each of the six NCAA segments of play.
Albany, Le Moyne and RIT stand atop Divisions I, II and III, respectively, on the men's side. Stony Brook, Lindenwood and Salisbury returned as No. 1 in those three divisions, respectively, on the women's side.
Have a look at the various major-college and junior-college polls released on Monday...
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
MD1 | WD1 | MD2 | WD2 | MD3 | WD3
Maverik-Cascade/IL Media Polls
MD1 | WD1
USILA Polls
MD1 | MD2 | MD3
IWLCA Polls
WD1 | WD2 | WD3
NJCAA Polls
Men | Women
2. A hat trick to become Maryland's leader in career goals scored earned Megan Whittle the Brine/US Lacrosse Player of the Week Award.
Whittle entered Sunday's game at Ohio State tied with National Lacrosse Hall of Famer Jen Adams atop the Terrapins' record book in all-time goals with 267. The senior attacker broke the mark just 5:44 into Maryland's 20-5 win. She now stands alone at 270 entering play this week.
3. A six-point outing Providence Saturday, including his fifth game-winning goal of the season, earned Marquette's John Wagner the Warrior/US Lacrosse Player of the Week Award.
Wagner accounted for three points in his team's 7-6 loss to Notre Dame Wednesday, but his effort in a 12-11 overtime win against the Friars stands out. The junior attackman scored the winner 17 seconds into overtime, but he tallied five of his points in the fourth quarter when the Golden Eagles rallied from an 11-7 deficit in stunning fashion.
3. Defending National Lacrosse League champion Georgia has won four straight to peak at the right time, leading this week's NLL Notebook.
The Swarm, earlier an off-and-on basement resident in the Eastern Division, tied Rochester for first place thanks to a 16-10 win at overall league No. 1 Saskatachewan Saturday. Also in the notebook: playoff scenarios, the return of Captain America, and a college attackman backstops a win in his first start in goal.
4. Saturday will open the curtain on the Major League Lacrosse season and a new era for the league.
From the April edition of US Lacrosse Magazine, the most significant of several questions on the league and its teams centers around new commissioner Sandy Brown. A former lacrosse player at Washington & Lee, Brown replaced longtime commissioner David Gross on Feb. 6. Other topics that warrant watching including the July 12-21 FIL World Championship's effect on the season, the Rattlers' first season in Dallas following their offseason move from Rochester and Dave Cottle's return to the bench for the Bayhawks.
We'll have more MLL previews throughout the week.
5. If you missed anything from the weekend, as yours truly did, check out yesterday's episode of “Dialed In: The Show.” Matt Hamilton anchors the regular 6 p.m. ET Monday video recap.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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No. 1 McDonogh (Md.) defeated host and No. 8 Bishop Ireton (Va.), 14-8, yesterday in a matchup of Nike/US Lacrosse National High School Girls' Top 25 teams, as covered by The Baltimore Sun. The win marked the Eagles' 189th straight.
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The Dallas Morning News offered locals a primer on the state's new “semiprofessional” lacrosse team, the Dallas Rattlers, and a photo gallery of a promotional clinic the Rattlers ran with a few Dallas Cowboys.
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Pressbox profiled Navy senior identical twins Jenna and Julia Collins.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
WMAR-TV Channel 2 in Baltimore interviewed Chesapeake Bayhawks coach Dave Cottle, who's coming out of retirement to lead the Bayhawks as the Major League Lacrosse season gets underway Saturday. Cottle, 62, talks about changes in his craft that have come with age and time away, and Chesapeake sounds poised to release updated plans on its proposed stadium complex Friday.
KSTP-TV Channel 5 in Saint Paul, Minn., showed the life of at least one high school team in the state this week. It can't be the only one given the recent weather.
WHAT’S ON TAP
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Another busy day for college content will see Bracketology on the men's side, a notebook for the women, and the release of teams that qualified for the US Lacrosse Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates National Championships.
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The Nike/US Lacrosse National High School Top 25 rankings and regional reports will be released today.
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Watch for MLL previews in advance of Saturday's openers.
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On the field, the No. 5 Yale men hope to avoid a look-ahead loss at Marist with No. 1 Albany looming Sunday. In-state rivalry games in men's lacrosse have Providence visiting Brown and Saint Joseph's visiting Penn, while the Cornell women travel to Binghamton.