College Crosse Prospectus: Nebraska Lacrosse Aims To Grow The Game

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation!! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for October 3, 2017.

What You Missed

The Cornell Big Red announced their 2018 captains.

Lacrosse The Nation

Ramsey Wehr of The Daily Nebraskan profiles the Nebraska Cornhuskers club lacrosse team, which wants to try and spread the sport throughout the state as they enter a new MCLA conference for 2018:

President of the team, Jowe Tombi, began playing lacrosse when he was in middle school in Omaha. He eventually ended up in Lincoln and is the face-off specialist for the team. He said he credits this to [Rob] Mazanec’s influence.

“I just like the fact that the play style of it is really personal so that affects the way you play,” Tombi said.

Tombi said he thinks lacrosse is the fastest growing sport at both high school and college levels across the country because it is a contact sport that is fast-paced, keeping both spectators and players involved. He said there is the ability to stand out as an individual, yet be a part of a team within the sport.

The UNL club team has been moved from the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference, to the Upper Midwest Lacrosse Conference. Through this change the team is hoping to draw more attention to the sport and spread it around Nebraska.

“That is just a rallying call for us to step up and really do well at a more challenging division.” Tombi said.

Former High Point Panthers assistant coach Ryan Cassidy started his new podcast, Texas Lacrosse News, with a bang. He interviewed his old boss Jon Torpey:

Ya boy (me) profiled the Deyhontsigwa’ehs International Lacrosse Festival this weekend for NCC News! I’ll have something up here soon.

Greece Lacrosse has hired current Furman Paladins associate head coach Andrew Athens as their first ever head coach.

“My original last name is Athenasiades . . . shortened to Athens when my great grandparents came to the United States from Patras, Greece.” He added, “I would like to thank my head coach, Richie Meade, for his mentorship and enthusiastic support as I take on this special role as the head coach of the Greece National Lacrosse Team.”

Andrew Athens is one of 10 children, and 6 of them played collegiate lacrosse, including two sisters who were college All-Americans and currently coach at the collegiate level. His father, Colonel Art Athens, USMCR, (Ret.), played lacrosse at the Naval Academy in the mid-70’s, and serves today as the Director of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Center for Ethical Leadership.

“My goal for the Greece National team is to build a championship mind-set that honors the great athletic legacy of the Greek nation,” says Athens. “So far everyone with whom I have had contact with in the Greece Lacrosse Association has been outstanding, and I’m ready to get to work . . . Yasou!”

Team Israel has been grinding for the past couple of weeks. They’ll scrimmage against Johns Hopkins, Team USA, and Towson this weekend:

They’ll also scrimmage Yale tomorrow night.

Speaking of Team USA, Maryland Terrapins midfielder Connor Kelly will have double duty with the Americans and his own team this weekend, pens Brian Logue of US Lacrosse Magazine:

As one of the youngest players on the team, Kelly’s odds to make the final 23-player roster for the Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship in Israel next summer are long, but he’s already shown he belongs in the mix.

“He makes the plays available to him,” said U.S. team head coach John Danowski. “His confidence and ability to relax allow him to play at a high level.”

“This has been an honor and I’ve been trying to take advantage of every moment I’ve had,” said Kelly of his U.S. team experience that began with a July tryout session. “I’ve sort of sat back and watched and tried to take it all in. I’m so happy to be a part of this.”

Kelly says he plans to pursue lacrosse after college and veteran MLL players like Paul Rabil, Rob Pannell, Joe Walters, Ned Crotty and Matt Danowski have welcomed him with open arms.

Condition is key:

Inside Lacrosse’s Matt Kinnear recaps the Albany Great Danes scrimmages against Israel and the Iroquois Nationals:

Folks coming to see the Tehoka Nanticoke show were not disappointed. But it was also the Connor Fields show. And the TD Ierlan show. And actually, well down the bench Albany players put on a show in the Carrier Dome after filling in as a last-minute replacement to scrimmage the Iroquois and Israel national teams.

Albany showcased its depth. The known commodities flexed their muscle, but contributions from up and down the roster showed why the Great Danes are on a short list of top teams in the country heading into 2018.

“The seconds maintained a high level,” Albany coach Scott Marr said. “I was happy with the energy and how fast we played.”

Albany beat Israel and Iroquois, leading Israel 8-2 after a 25-minute half that featured the first team and closing out the contest as 11-4 victors. Against the Iroquois, Albany led 12-3 at the half and won 18-7.

“We have a lot of threats on the field now. It’s about putting it together,” said Fields.

The Michigan Wolverines are grinding!

Video highlights from the Team IMPACT Walk from this weekend:

Freshman time!

The Princeton Tigers announced their entire Class of 2021.

Philly Jawns

Joel Embiid was spotted running through Philly at midnight:

World News

Legendary rock musician Tom Petty suffered cardiac arrest and passed away at 66.

Video of the Day

Coldplay did a nice tribute to Petty last night in Portland:

That’s it for today!! I’ll see you out there!! Make sure you follow us on social media!

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell