Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Dave Pietramala is out as coach of the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team.
In something of a stunner, especially considering the circumstances of the global pandemic, Johns Hopkins announced that the university and Pietramala had mutually agreed to part ways.
A National Lacrosse Hall of Fame defenseman and the winningest coach in Hopkins history, Pietramala is the only person in the sport’s history to win a national championship as both a player and coach.
More on the decision here.
2. Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun provided a bit more context. According to Preston, Pietramala was in the final year of a four-year contract.
In perhaps more interesting news, Preston named Albany’s Scott Marr, Drexel’s Brian Voelker, Hofstra’s Seth Tierney, Hobart’s Greg Raymond and Towson’s Shawn Nadelen as those who could receive interviews. He surmised Nadelen, a 2001 Hopkins grad, could be the favorite.
3. The Women’s Professional Lacrosse League won’t have a season in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The league announced Tuesday that it would cancel the upcoming campaign and the subsequent draft.
“We will put the health, safety and well-being of our athletes, fans, partners and staff first,” WPLL CEO and founder Michele DeJuliis said.
More here.
4. Two former Syracuse stars sat down together for the latest episode of “Overtime,” as all-time great Gary Gait and host Paul Carcaterra spoke about Gait’s lacrosse beginnings and what keeps him up at night as coach of the Syracuse women’s team.
Listen to “Overtime” here.
5. We’re into the quarterfinals in the men’s bracket of the Nike/USLM Virtual NCAA Tournament and the second round in the women’s bracket. Voting continues on Twitter today.
See the brackets below.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Arkansas-based Little Rock Lacrosse held a US Lacrosse TryLax clinic in January for 64 boys and girls, of which almost 100 percent signed up for spring leagues after experiencing lacrosse for the first time. Read Paul Ohanian’s story here.
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B.J. Burlace announced Monday afternoon that he will transfer to Maryland after one season at Yale. The long-stick-midfielder had initially made a verbal commitment to Maryland where his father, Bubba, won a Schmeisser Award.
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Defender TJ Connellan will come back for another season of lacrosse at Penn State.
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Delaware’s Charlie Kitchen will do the same, as he’ll suit up for the Blue Hens again in 2021.
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Joshua Nelms of the East Carolinian wrote about the East Carolina women’s team’s strong start.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Talk about accuracy.
He did it with a lacrosse stick
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 14, 2020
(via colezaf/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/RnqE4JQnRv
WHAT’S ON TAP
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We spoke to eight former players of Pietramala's at Johns Hopkins, and we present their thoughts on Tuesday's shocker.