Michigan Lacrosse: A Quick Intro to the Men's and Women's Teams

I started out writing about Michigan lacrosse part way through the season last year, and I'll continue with Team 3 in 2014. In addition to the men's team, I will also do my best to write about the women's team. Team 1 for the women will start in 2014. There's a lot of excitement around both teams, and I hope I can do each squad some justice.

Team 3 Men's Lacrosse:

To start things off, here's a video so you can get to know men's lacrosse head coach John Paul. He has been a part of Michigan lacrosse since 1986-1987 as a player and a coach. As coach of the club team, he made them into a powerhouse, going 76-2 in the final four years leading to their D-1 status. Things have been difficult during the first two seasons as a D-1 program, posting only two wins in that time. However, things have been looking up, and the 2014 recruiting class has been ranked as the number 18 class in the country. I've written a few things on recruiting here and here. There is a brief interview with junior attackman, Will Meter, over at mgoblue.com that is also worth checking out. Who is on the team, you ask? Well, these guys. I have yet to see a schedule for 2014, but further growing pains can be expected. Improvements are being made, and it's all starting with the recruiting.

Now that the team has gotten a little bit older, and they have been playing as a group, I think that they'll win more than one game this year. They won't make it to the tournament, but they'll be competitive enough to win maybe three or four games. Again, not having seen a schedule, I could be waaaay off on that, but I have high hopes.

Team 1 Women's Lacrosse:

I know virtually nothing about women's lacrosse. I've watched it here and there, and the idea is pretty much the same as the men's game, but there are some differences...like no real contact (certainly not as much as in the men's game). Zach has been kind enough to allow me to make a mess of writing about the women's game so I can show my three daughters that I'm interested in what girls can do, too.

The first women's team is coached by Jennifer Ulehla, and you can watch getting to know videos here and here. Prior to heading the Michigan program, she had been the head coach at Temple ('04-'06) and at James Madison ('94-'02). As a player, she played lacrosse for Maryland. She has an impressive resume (including an assistant stop at the University of Florida), and should be able to do some great things in Ann Arbor. Who is on the team? These ladies. You can take a look at their inaugural schedule here. The notable games to me are against Penn State and the always seemingly unstoppable Northwestern Wildcats. Not knowing a whole lot about women's lacrosse, I'm not sure what the rest of the schedule holds for the Wolverines, but I'm excited to watch some games and learn more about this team.

Conclusion:

It's going to be an interesting season for the men and the women. There will be some struggles and there will be some growth with each team...and with my coverage, to be sure. Hopefully I can keep some lacrosse fans interested enough to keep coming back, and I also hope that I can bring some new fans to the sport.