Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Rutgers star Adam Charalambides suffered another season-ending injury during preseason practice, confirmed by the team on Tuesday.
Charalambides tore his ACL in January 2017 and missed the entire season last year, but worked through the summer getting ready to play for Rutgers in 2018. He was to join a Scarlet Knights (ranked No. 7 in USLM’s Preseason Top 20) offense that includes Jules Heningburg and Keiran Mullins — one of the most potent in Division I.
"I am saddened for Adam after how hard he worked to get back on the field this spring," coach Brian Brecht said. "He is an exceptional young man and I have full confidence that he will attack his recovery and come back stronger next season. His teammates and coaching staff are fully supporting him during this time as he will continue to be a huge part of our program this season.”
Charalambides was the 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year after scoring 43 goals and 57 points in 16 games with Rutgers.
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Also missing the 2018 season is Marquette's Tanner Thomson, who led the team with 20 goals and 14 assists last season. He suffered an injury in the fall and will redshirt.
2. Maryland tops the USILA’s Preseason Top 20 list, with Duke, Albany, Denver and Yale rounding out the top 5.
In Division II, defending champions Limestone topped the preseason top 20. Runner-up Merrimack followed at No. 2, Le Moyne at No. 3, Adelphi at No. 4 and Pace at No. 5.
Going with the trend of defending champions, Salisbury led the pack for Division III, followed by Wesleyan, RIT, Denison and York.
3. Montana men’s club lacrosse just returned from a trip of a lifetime. Led by coach Tucker Sargent, Montana flew to Mexico City to battle the Mexican national team and conduct clinics in one of the world’s most populous cities.
The Grizzlies became the first American college team to travel to Mexico to face the national team. It was a trip that happened because of a chance encounter at Maine’s Camp Winona.
Sargent coached a young boy named Javi Halffter from Mexico City in 2004. The two developed a relationship that continued into 2016, when Sargent and Halffter helped organize the journey.
4. Boston College, ranked No. 9 in our women’s Division I Preseason Top 20, has enough firepower to compete with or without Kenzie Kent.
With the nation’s leading goal scorer in Sam Apuzzo (80 goals) returning, the Eagles are gearing up for another run. Also back is midfielder Dempsey Arsenault.
“Now that they've tasted [a national championship game], they’re hungrier to get back,” Boston College coach Acacia Walker said.
5. Penn State men, No. 9, knows there’s still an elephant in the locker room — the Nittany Lions have never won an NCAA tournament game in the 47 years since lacrosse fell under the NCAA umbrella.
Jeff Tambroni’s team had a good shot last year, ranked No. 1 during the season but eventually falling to Towson in the NCAA tournament first round.
With leading scorer Grant Ament and sophomore sensation Mac O’Keefe returning, the belief is at an all-time high.