Wahoo Wire

Written By: Doug Fowler

In general, University of Virginia Club sports are not covered by the University’s sports writers who instead usually focus their time writing about one or more of UVA’s varsity athletic programs. In light of this fact and despite not being involved in the epic seven overtime battle with Maryland’s Varsity Men’s Lacrosse at Klockner Stadium, some recognition should be bestowed upon the strong and successful Men’s Club Lacrosse team.

The Club Lacrosse season starts every year with tryouts in the fall. These tryouts last for three days (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday) for two hours each day, allowing for a comprehensive look at all aspects of a potential player’s skills by the returning members of the team. After every tryout day, the team meets to discuss their thoughts on potential members, culminating with the last post-tryout meeting in which the team picks its newest members. Once the new members are selected, practices begin. Practices, much like the tryouts, take place three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday) for two hours each day. With practice not mandatory, a big roster (around fifty) and the huge academic obligations that non-varsity athletes are not excused of due to sporting commitments, getting everyone to show up is a mainstay problem of all club sports, lacrosse included. Regardless, the President tries his best to make it a “team of guys who want to be out there [playing].”

Without an official coach, the job of the President is very important. His job entails not only being the team leader and captain but running all the practices and choosing who is and is not going to play. The Vice-President also plays an important role, taking care of scheduling with other teams and booking referees. He also helps out with the planning of the practices and how to keep the team motivated. In terms of funding, UVA strongly supports the Men’s Club Lacrosse Team, covering travel, hotel, and jersey expenses. Players have to buy shorts and pay a small dues fee (around $100) but it’s a small price to pay for the love of the game.

In September, following try-outs, the fall season begins. Beyond the series of regular season games, the team is also involved in multiple tournaments. Annually participating in fall tournaments including the Hill School Tournament (4-time defending champions) and the East Carolina Fall Tournament (6-time defending champions before they were unable to compete in it this year due to a re-scheduling conflict over bad weather). The team starts every spring season with the Mardi Gras Tournament, a three day tournament in New Orleans. With lots of good competition (including a Major League Lacrosse team), these pre-season games give good preparation going into the regular season. This year they won three of four games, and in the words of the now graduated former President Hal Turner, “It was overall a success.” A week later, the regular season began in Charlottesville with easy victories over National College Lacrosse League (the league UVA Men’s Club Lacrosse is a part of) opponents James Madison and Hampden-Sydney. Then, after spring break, in order to test the team and better prepare them for later, two games were played against men’s teams. One was a local men’s team comprised mostly of former varsity players living in Charlottesville, the other a Richmond men’s team. With these tough games refocusing the team, the following weekend saw victories over both Duke and Richmond.

The weekend after that the team was involved in The Beltway Bash, an annual club lacrosse tournament held at College Park, Maryland. With sixteen NCLL teams and over sixteen Division II club teams involved, it provided both good competition and a showcase to solidify their status as contenders for the NCLL championship. Although they didn’t win the tournament, in the semi-finals with only fifteen battered and bruised players they lost to a forty five man deep Maryland squad in overtime. Maryland, even with homefield advantage, went on to lose in the final to Salisbury. With that strong tournament run under their belt, there was no denying that come NCLL tournament time the UVA men’s club lacrosse team had, as Turner put it, “the potential to be one of the best teams.”

As with all teams, the number one goal is winning the championship. Every year the team comes pain-stakingly close. Unfortunately, the finals of the NCLL championship usually fall around the time of The Foxfield Races, making it a tough decision for the social players between an optional lacrosse tournament and a glorified tailgate. Luckily this past April they got the NCLL Final Four games to be played in Charlottesville, making it an easier decision for the players. With a solid squad and homefield advantage, the Men’s Club Lacrosse team beat Loyola, Penn State, Navy and Beltway Bash champion Salisbury on their road to the championship. The championship was an emphatic end to a very successful season and in light of the Varsity Men’s Lacrosse team falling short, UVA still had a national champion lacrosse team.