Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Two coaching legends announced retirements on Tuesday.
Union coach and National Lacrosse Hall of Famer Paul Wehrum announced he was retiring after four decades at the helm of college programs. He tallied 403 wins with Herkimer County Community College (including a record 59 straight) before becoming the first coach in Union’s history in 2007.
Wehrum led Union to a 138-74 record, including a 14-4 mark and an NCAA tournament berth this season. He was also an assistant on Bill Tierney's staff for the 1998 gold medal-winning U.S. men's national team.
- Also, Hampton coach Lloyd Carter will retire on June 30. Carter has served as coach of the Pirates program since it was founded as a club team in 2013.
The Morgan State alum led Hampton as it became the first HBCU Division I program in 2016. The Pirates went 6-5 this season, including a 26-2 win over Bethany College at US Lacrosse Headquarters.
2. The U.S. men’s indoor national team is in Baltimore for a training week in preparation for the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships. Tonight, they’ll take the field for a Blue-White exhibition at Du Burns Arena.
Check out some highlights from Day 1.
Speaking of the U.S. indoor team, here’s a Q&A with training team member Kieran McArdle on his NLL career.
3. It was a good day in women’s lacrosse.
First, the WPLL unveiled new team names and logos for the 2019 season. The league dropped the geotags from team names and released the corresponding logos which you can see below.
In addition, ESPN has added Friday's NCAA women’s semifinals to ESPNEWS, according to Burke Magnus, executive vice president of programming and scheduling.
We have added the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse National Championship Semifinal games to ESPNews (in addition to ESPN3 & ESPN App) LIVE on FRI 5/24 - @uncwlax vs @BCwlax 5:00pm ET & @NULax vs @MarylandWLax 7:30pm ET @NCAALAX @IWLCA @espn
— Burke Magnus (@burkemagnus) May 21, 2019
4. Continuing with our MLL previews, we check in on Bryce Wasserman heading home to play with the Dallas Rattlers. Plus, Colin Heacock is back to lead the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2019.
5. ESPN personality Mike Golic Jr. may have played four seasons of football at Notre Dame before becoming a rising star at the worldwide leader, but he maintains a passion for lacrosse. He spoke with Paul Carcaterra in Season 2 Episode 5 of Overtime. Check it out.
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6. Why is community lacrosse so important to the growth of the sport? That question and plenty more are answered by community lacrosse leaders across the country as part of our “A Place of Play” cover story in the May/June edition of the magazine.
Hear from these leaders/coaches on a number of subjects concerning community lacrosse.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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Former Ohio State defenseman Matt Borges signed with the Chesapeake Bayhawks ahead of the 2019 season.
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A great feature on Alfie Jacques and his stick-making business, which sits in the heart of the Onondaga Nation just south of Syracuse.
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Box Elder High School (Utah) coach Juan Gaytan wanted to do something after losing two of his players to suicide. He started talking to his team about their feelings and having honest conversations.
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Girls lacrosse is a “sleeping giant” in the St. Cloud Area of Minnesota.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
I mean, sheesh. Connor Fields with the next level fake from PLL training camp.
Got ‘em @connorfields14 pic.twitter.com/susht8WSGX
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) May 21, 2019
Limestone coach J.B. Clarke talks about the Saints’ upcoming matchup with Merrimack in the Division II national championship.
.@LimestoneSaints lacrosse is playing for a national title this weekend, the Saints 5th national title appearance in the last 6 years pic.twitter.com/tIXjfg7Y1c
— Julia Morris (@JMorrisWYFF4) May 21, 2019
WHAT’S ON TAP
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Patrick Stevens gives us the NCAA men's final four A-to-Z. Get ready.
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MLL previews continue with Denver and New York.
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A feature on Maryland women's lacrosse star Caroline Steele.
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