Season Preview: 2010 Tiger Lacrosse
by: John Hobart ‘10Retaining many experienced players, lax squad gears up for challenging season openers
The 2010 Hampden-Sydney lacrosse team has a great group of players who can compete with anyone. They will look to prove that competitiveness throughout the season as they play one of the toughest schedules in the nation. After opening the season against Mary Washington, the Tigers will host two laxmagazine.com top 20 opponents in Gettysburg (#3) and Cabrini (#12). This challenging schedule will help the Tigers as they compete for a championship in one of the most potent conferences in the nation, the ODAC.
The Tigers were picked to finish 4th in the preseason ODAC polls behind three top 20 teams in Roanoke (#5), Washington and Lee (#13), and Lynchburg (#17). Despite the unrivaled schedule, senior All-American and Captain Kyle Jett remains confident. “Our expectations are high,” said Jett “because last year was a rebuilding year. We only lost four seniors and return all of our defense and most of our offense.” The fact that three teams within the ODAC were ranked in the top 20 doesn’t faze the Tigers either. Jett says the Tigers “will use the rankings as motivation throughout the season because we feel that we are being overlooked.”
The biggest strength of the team will be their experience as they return all but one starter. Captain Mark Bagby will be back in the goal hoping for a lot of help from first team All-ODAC defender Daniel Martin. While the team is loaded with experience, an immediate impact can be expected from freshmen Ted Perweiler, Jess Hawthorne, Brad Mostowy, Cameron Sheppard, and Nate Norbo, a transfer from Fairfield.
The Hampden-Sydney faithful got a preview of some Tigerball on February 13th as the lax squad scrimmaged Harford Community College, Washington and Jefferson, and St. Andrews. While the Tigers defeated all teams handily, it was good for the team to get out on the turf as the snow had limited the team’s practice time. Senior Thomas Hovis was pleased that “everyone on the team got a chance to play and everyone from top to bottom looked good.” Hovis is looking for his second ODAC title this school year after helping to lead the Tiger football team to an undefeated season.
The first game was scheduled to be at Mary Washington on February 20th, but because of the snow in that area it will most likely be at H-SC or in Richmond. You can check the website for updates on the opener. #3 Gettysburg, who appeared in last year’s National Championship, will visit on February 27th as will #12 Cabrini on March 3rd. The entire student body needs to make an effort to be at these games as we have seen how we can give our sports teams an unmatched home-field advantage.
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