Holding off on talking about the Michigan fallball events yesterday afternoon. I’ll have more on them later. For now, on to the links (as always, send anything you’ve got to the e-mail inbox or the Twitter machine).
Serious Interlude
Most of the news shared on these pages is happy, so unfortunately it’s time to bring something not so happy. Former Seaholm (and UNC, and MLL) attack Jeff Sonke‘s family has been hit by a cancer diagnosis. His wife Casey is suffering from a Desmoid Tumor (rare form of cancer), and your support would be appreciated – details at the link.
Sonke is a recent inductee to the Michigan Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and a great guy. Any help is surely appreciated.
MCLA
Michigan State’s web T.V. series focuses on coach Brandon Schwind in the latest installment:
Division-1
Mercer will play both Michigan and UDM this fall. Those games are just two days apart, as one road trip. That’s a little more rare in Division-1 than it is in the club ranks, but both Michigan and UDM scheduling should benefit long-term from being an easy two-game road trip.
You have a few more days to vote for Detroit in two categories on Lacrosse Magazine‘s best-of polls. The Titans are up for the Breakthrough Team of the Year and Game of the Year (NCAA loss to Notre Dame) awards.
As noted the other day, the Michigan women have released Schedule One.
Recruiting
I’ve talked about Michigan’s 2016 class a couple times in recent weeks, and Inside Lacrosse has taken note of the success the Wolverines are having on the recruiting trail, mentioning it among five that could be the best in the country:
The Wolverines’ success in recruiting is evidence that wins and program tradition aren’t everything. Their resources, academics and commitment to lacrosse are second to none, and the idea of helping build a program seems to be extremely attractive for highly touted recruits.
Sounds like their class got better yesterday afternoon and might get even more star power within the next few weeks, so it could be a special group – the kind people expect the Wolverines to have.
Haslett 2014 defenseman Jake Gornick committed to Albion.
Savage (Minn.) Prior Lake 2014 defenseman Austin Polson McCannon committed to Detroit.
Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga 2014 attack Mark Arnstead also picked the Titans.
Moorestown (N.J.) 2015 defender Maggie Handlan committed to Michigan’s women.
Club/Showcases/Etc.
Haslett senior attack Noah Taylor (committed to Hamilton College) got some press in Inside Lacrosse‘s coverage of Paul Rabil‘s Project 9.9 camp:
Taylor led the Black Team with five goals on the day. He’s a nifty shooter down low who’s a nice finish point for a transition offense. Kid won the unofficial best flow of the day too.
Better just make that award official.
The NXT Showcase is coming to Detroit Country Day Nov. 9-10 for the Can-Am event. True, Premier Lacrosse Group, and several other local clubs are participating in that portion of the event Sunday. Saturday is the individuals’ time to shine.
The Boo Bash is this weekend, and full schedules for all age brackets are now available. The high school portion is Sunday, for people into that.
Semi-Pro
The Grand Rapids Dragonfish hosted the Continental Indoor Lacrosse League tournament in Cedar Springs over the weekend. The Dragonfish fell to Chicago in the semis, and Colorado took home the crown.
Self-Linkage
Year-to-year change in stats for the Titans – and a bit of a forward projection in that regard.
Michigan’s offense was actually worse last year than it had been the previous season (the Wolverines’ first as a Divsion-1 program). Exploring some of the reasons why.
As always, thanks for visiting GreatLaxState.com. Feel free to send any feedback to the contact channels listed above.
What do you mean by “sounds like their class got better yesterday”? Did they pick up another commit?
Should come out in the next couple days (if it hasn’t yet).