Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Loyola's Pat Spencer is the first player in the history of the Patriot League to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns, the league announced Monday, along with the other major awards and all-league honors.
Navy’s Chris Fennell is the Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight time, Army’s Dan Grabher is the Faceoff Specialist of the Year and Colgate’s Griffin Brown is the Rookie of the Year. Boston University’s Christian Carson-Banister and Ryan Polley were also named Goalkeeper and William Lawson Coach of the Year, respectively.
2. In this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse rankings, there were two new No. 1 teams.
In Division II, Merrimack men’s lacrosse now sits at the top after upsetting Limestone, while the Adelphi women were dethroned by Le Moyne, making room for Lindenwood to slide into the No. 1 spot.
In Division I, Loyola is back in the men’s Top 20, which features a new top three in Syracuse, Denver and Duke, while the lady Quakers climbed to No. 6 after upsetting Ivy league rival Princeton.
Meanwhile in Division III, the No. 1 teams hold strong – the lady Herons and the Bates men.
A look at the major-college and junior-college polls released on Monday:
NIKE/USL RANKINGS
MD1 | WD1 | MD2 | WD2 | MD3 | WD3
MAVERIK/CASCADE/IL MEDIA POLLS
MD1 | WD1
USILA POLLS
MD1 | MD2 | MD3
IWLCA POLLS
WD1 | WD2 | WD3
JUNIOR COLLEGE MEN
3. The Epoch/US Lacrosse Players of the Week are Notre Dame’s Sergio Perkovic on the men’s side and Louisville’s Meghan Siverson on the women’s side.
What We’re Reading
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Stony Brook’s Kristin Yevoli is holding escalation workshops for the One Love Foundation on campus. Fifty student-athletes attended her first session.
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Syracuse.com asks its readers whether Syracuse’s nine one-goal games are stressing fans out.
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The 2017 season is wide open with several teams in the mix for postseason consideration, writes ESPN’s Quint Kessenich for Inside Lacrosse.
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The Woodrow Wilson High School (D.C.) boys’ lacrosse team is showing what diversity can look like in the sport, writes Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.
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The Highland (Va.) varsity boys’ lacrosse team play in the memory of their coach Kevin Helmick, who died last summer from pancreatic cancer at age 46.
What We’re Watching
Irish senior Cortney Fortunato is the "Lebron James of women’s lacrosse," according to former NFL quarterback and current CBS analyst Steve Beuerlein on the Notre Dame Day broadcast.
Fortunato also talks about her experience playing for Team USA with the 2017 World Cup Training Team and announces her plans to pursue a master’s degree in management at Notre Dame after graduating.
#1 Recruit in U.S.
— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) April 24, 2017
40 Career Hat Tricks
2nd All-Time @NDWomensLax Goals
Meet SR Cortney Fortunato.
Watch/Donate: https://t.co/xpRJC6Rs4g pic.twitter.com/v8ANq87bNk
What’s On Tap
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The Nike/US Lacrosse high school rankings come out today. Check back later to see which boys’ and girls’ teams are No. 1.
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The Patriot League men’s lacrosse tournament kicks off Tuesday. No. 4 Navy hosts No. 5 Holy Cross at 6 p.m. and No. 6 Lehigh plays at No. 3 Boston University at 7 p.m. Winners advance to the semifinals on Friday before the championship on Sunday at top seed and host Loyola.
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In Division III, No. 14 Stevenson heads to No. 17 Stevens for a top men’s showcase Tuesday. On the women’s side, No. 4 Brockport takes on No. 9 Cortland.
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In high school boys’ lacrosse, fans won’t want to miss Loyola Blakefield (Md.) facing off against Gilman (Md.) at the US Lacrosse headquarters at 5:30 p.m.