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MCLA: Tech Tradition
Feb. 21, 2008
by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff A lot of the NCAA varsity programs think they put lacrosse on the map. They've been playing since the 1950s or `60s and assume they got in on the ground floor of the sport. Georgia Tech, a member of the MCLA Division I, has three words for those teams: settle down, junior. The Yellow Jackets first took the field in 1924 as a varsity team after it was created by Dr. J.B. Crenshaw, the head of the Modern Language department at Tech and the faculty director of the athletic department. A goalie on the 1893 Johns Hopkins squad, Crenshaw brought the sport to Atlanta and compiled a schedule comprised of the powers of the day - Hopkins, Virginia, Maryland, Navy and Penn. Unfortunately, it was only a five-year run as the program became one of the many casualties of the Great Depression. For nearly five decades the Tech program remained dormant before reemerging in 1971 as a club team and again establishing itself as the dominant squad in the South. After a bit of a lull, the Ramblin' Wreck is back as a team to be reckoned with in the MCLA. Reckoned with, yes, but the program has not been able to sustain the consistent participation in the national tournament that coach Ken Lovic would like. As it turns out, the reason J.B. Crenshaw was lured to Georgia Tech - its reputation as one of the finest universities in the nation, especially in engineering - makes it difficult for the Yellow Jackets to compete with MCLA power players on a yearly basis. When Lovic gauges a recruit, what he finds on the academic transcript is more important than if he can pick corners with both hands.
"We don't want a borderline student," said Lovic. "Georgia Tech kids are working so hard in the classroom if we have a borderline student coming in we probably wouldn't have him playing lacrosse for us very long. We're not preparing him for the real world just to get some lacrosse out him. That's not the way we operate our program. We have to make sure they are a good fit for our school first and then if lacrosse fits into their program, all the better for us."
Sometimes that fit doesn't happen right away. Students who hope to play lacrosse but are pursuing degrees in architecture or building construction typically have to wait at least a year to see the field in order to fulfill their time-consuming studio requirement. "Every year we have kids who will not play their freshman year, and sometimes their sophomore year, based on what they study. We actually have three kids on the team this year who are juniors and it's their first time playing. All of them played in high school and we recruited them, but they just couldn't do it the first two years because academically they needed to get themselves squared away." It takes a certain type of maturity to put the academic blinders on while your teammates are out on the green grass every day, but emphasizing the primacy of class is something the Tech staff does each fall. When a player is finally able to step on the field after getting his schoolwork under control, there is a camaraderie formed by the knowledge they are all in the same boat. "They all kind of feed off each other and understand the misery of what it's like to be a Tech student," said Lovic. "So they commiserate with one another, but they also find a way to get through it together. We'll go on road trips and you look down the [bus] aisle and you'll see freshmen comparing notes with seniors about what classes they're stuck in. "For all of them lacrosse is their big stress relief. When they have the opportunity to be with one another on the lacrosse field during practice it is a great two hours because they get away from the classroom. But it quickly goes right back to the classroom as soon as practice is over. You'll hear guys say I need help with this or that and guys will pop up because they've all been through it." In light of the rigors involved in a Tech student's career, it's no surprise there is a small talent pool for Lovic to choose from. Fortunately, it is one that stretches across the country due to the school's reputation. The leading scorer for the Yellow Jackets, Carl Wilson, is from Indiana. Goalie Sam Karpowicz is from Connecticut. Contributors from Maine, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, Michigan and Massachusetts dot the roster. "We do a lot of recruiting, but kids usually find us before we find them," admitted Lovic. "They want to go to a top engineering school and don't want to go to a smaller Division III school. We then build our program to compliment the education here in terms of reputation and opportunity. It's natural they'll get to us as well." Lovic understands he is not necessarily attracting the best players available, but he uses the inherent nature of the typical Tech student to his advantage. Even though he doesn't have the 80-player tryouts enjoyed by his Southeastern Lacrosse Conference rivals Clemson, Virginia Tech and Florida State, Lovic can use what he describes as the "blue collar" mentality of his players to overcome any lack of numbers. "Our roster is typically no more than the low 30s, and that's even a big roster for us," said Lovic. "But we've got the reputation of being a real hard-working team. We're not the prettiest team by any means, but the kids strap the hats on and are very blue collar. Tech students, in general, are very competitive by nature." An example of Georgia Tech's gritty persona appeared last Friday night when it upset No. 11 Lindenwood. Using four goals from Wilson and three more from Casey Timmerman (from Ohio), along with a steady effort from the entirely revamped defense, Tech posted the 9-5 triumph. "Friday night was kind of a shocker in that we were able to beat a team as highly ranked as Lindenwood, probably because they were overlooking us. They probably didn't think much of us at all," said Lovic. "They were clearly the better team on the field but our guys just worked harder and earned a great victory." The Ramblin' Wreck hasn't been to the MCLA tournament since 2004, when they also won the SELC title, and it's obviously a goal for this year's team. Regardless of the outcome this season, Georgia Tech is competing at a level and in a fashion that would make J.B. Crenshaw proud.
Pac-10 Promise Due to scheduling conflicts, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon were unable to attend this year while Washington State is rebounding from a three-year dormancy and was unable to make the trip. All four of these teams have tentatively agreed to attend the Shootout next year, according to an insider who participated in the event. The traditional Pac-10 teams are broken up between the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (UO, OSU, UW & WSU) and the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (UA, ASU, UCLA, USC, Cal & Stanford). In the inaugural shootout it was the Bay Area schools that shined, with both Stanford and Cal posting 2-0 marks. Washington ended up 1-1, while OSU and USC managed to go 1-2. UCLA could not utilize its home field advantage and wound up 0-2.
Slides & Rides Have an idea for the MCLA Notebook? Email Jac Coyne.
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