"Attack every day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”
The mantra of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has spread to the university’s men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.
When athletic director Warde Manuel cleaned house — hiring high-profile assistants Kevin Conry (Maryland) and Hannah Nielsen (Northwestern) as head coaches to replace program founders John Paul and Jenny Ulehla, respectively — he made clear the expectation of excellence.
“We preach the same thing for every sport,” Conry said. “We’re here at Michigan to live up to those standards and exceed them in the future.”
Michigan’s lacrosse teams combined to go 41-85 over the last four seasons. The university aimed to revamp the sport, starting with a new facility featuring a 2,000-seat lacrosse-only stadium, new locker rooms, film rooms, coaches offices, shooting room and team lounges. The teams have been practicing on their new field since Sept. 18, but it will make its official debut during the 2018 season.
“Just because we may be one of those non-revenue sports and not traditionally successful here, Michigan has a tradition of excellence and there’s no hiding,” Nielsen said. “What [Manuel] expects of the football team and basketball team, he expects of us. He makes that clear in meetings and when we speak to him. He shows his support not just by telling us, but by giving us the resources that we need.”
Both Conry, coming off an NCAA championship season as the defensive coordinator for the Terps, and Nielsen, a two-time Tewaaraton winner and four-time NCAA titlist as a player with the Wildcats, believe their Wolverines will become Memorial Day mainstays.
“That’s something I’m not shy to say,” Nielsen said.
It starts with developing a championship culture, as Conry describes it, including addressing off-the-field character and behavior.
“We tell our guys all the time that how you live your life is how you play this game,” Conry said. “We keep attacking every day with the enthusiasm unknown to mankind, as Coach Harbaugh likes to say. I take that approach in this job. I don’t pretend to think that I know everything. I am learning through the job but I’m confident. We’re growing together [with the] blank slate that we have to write our own story.”
NEW REGIMES IN 2018
CORNELL
2017 Record: 5-8 (3-3 Ivy League)
Old Coach: Matt Kerwick
New Coach: Peter Milliman
Pedigree: Big Red assistant for four seasons, U.S. indoor team assistant, former head coach at Division II Pfeiffer.
Vision: “When I had the opportunity to learn from the inside what makes this program tick, I got a real understanding that it’s a different place and it’s not like everywhere else. Success is built on the culture and young men we have here.”
Cause for Optimism: Jeff Teat. One of Milliman’s greatest scores as a recruiter, Teat set a Cornell freshman record with 72 points last season. The Big Red’s next four leading scorers also return. A breakout year for Cornell would put Teat in the Tewaaraton conversation.
— Matt Hamilton
DELAWARE
2017 Record: 7-8 (0-5 CAA)
Old Coach: Bob Shillinglaw
New Coach: Ben DeLuca
Pedigree: Head coach at Cornell from 2011-13 led alma mater to NCAA semifinals, won title as volunteer assistant at Duke in 2014 and spent last two seasons as assistant at Harvard. Also assistant GM of U.S. national team.
Vision: “To lay a foundation that brings consistency to the way we compete on the field and the way we participate in academics and in the community.”
Cause for Optimism: DeLuca is eager to chart a new path, both personally and for the team. The Blue Hens must knock off Hofstra and Towson, an NCAA semifinalist last year, to ascend to the top of the CAA. But chaos is the norm for the extremely balanced conference that also includes Drexel, Fairfield and UMass. Returnees include second-team All-CAA players Will Hirschmann (17G, 17A) and Austin Haynes (38GB) and CAA all-rookie teamers Matt DeLuca (53.8%) and Charlie Kitchen (28G, 14A).
— Jonathan Sigal
LOUISVILLE
2017 Record: 11-8 (3-4 ACC)
Old Coach: Kellie Young
New Coach: Scott Teeter
Pedigree: Four-time MAAC Coach of the Year at Canisius led Griffs to six conference titles/NCAA appearances, also led Canada’s U19 team to 2015 world title and senior team to silver medal in 2017.
Vision: “The ultimate goal is to bring a national championship back to Louisville. The foundation is already here in place. We just need to build off it.”
Cause for Optimism: Despite a tumultuous offseason in which 15 players transferred or left the school amid allegations of abusive tactics by since-fired coach Kellie Young, Teeter likes the talent among the 19 players he has inherited and also said he’ll keep the door open for the former Cardinals to return or other transfers to join the team. “You have to get to know your players,” he said. “Challenge them to be the best that they can be and never sacrifice character.”
— Megan Schneider
MICHIGAN (Men)
2017 Record: 8-6 (0-5 Big Ten)
Old Coach: John Paul
New Coach: Kevin Conry
Pedigree: Maryland’s defensive coordinator for the last five seasons helped lead Terps to first NCAA championship since 1975.
Vision: “A culture of excellence, a championship-style culture. The young men who come here to Michigan leave here with the idea they’ve had a great athletic experience, but they’re more capable and more qualified to handle the rollercoaster ride of life.”
Cause for Optimism: The Wolverines started last season 8-1 and were nationally ranked before fading in the Big Ten. Brent Noseworthy (37G), Decker Curran (17G, 8A) and Rocco Sutherland (17A) return, as does Tommy Heidt, a capable goalie and 2017 team MVP.
— Megan Schneider
MICHIGAN (Women)
2017 Record: 5-12 (1-5 Big Ten)
Old Coach: Jenny Ulehla
New Coach: Hannah Nielsen
Pedigree: Two-time Tewaaraton winner at Northwestern, four-time World Cup player for Australia has eight years of Division I coaching experience as assistant at Northwestern, Colorado, Towson and Penn State.
Vision: “First and foremost, build a culture of success and foster an environment where people can improve both as people and as players.”
Cause for Optimism: Nielsen remains elite on the international level. She can relate to players as a current player. The teams on which she was an assistant all improved during her time there. The potential is there. Michigan defeated rival Ohio State, a perennial top-20 team, last year.
— Megan Schneider