2008 PNCLL Top 25

[woulax23]

Just a little something to get the boards warmed up for the upcoming season. I was wondering where people's opinions stood on how our PNCLL teams will rank nationally. Whether you agree/disagree about where any particular team should/shouldn't be placed for the upcoming national pre-season rankings. We'll see where this discussion takes us

[Hi-Line Lax]

SFU is top 25... pretty sure they were left off that USLacrosse poll. As for Div 2, I think it's wide open. I believe that Westminster and UVSC are far ahead of everybody else, but the PNCLL-2 is another mystery. If a team comes out undefeated they should be Top 5 material, but I'm not so sure that will happen. If teams beat each other you will either see a bunch of ranked PNCLL-2 teams, or hardly any... who knows how it will shake out come game time, but my hunch is that will be determined by the quality of OOC wins by the conference. I think especially with WWU losing in the first round at nationals and us gone that the conference is really going to have to get some OOC wins to regain credibility. Good luck to all of you guys this spring... we definitely want that trophy to stay in conference.

[TheBearcatHimself]

D1:

Oregon is king of the hill until someone knocks them off. Joe is a big loss but I think they will still come to play because they have too much talent not too.

Simon Fraser has been lighting up some discussion in other forums on here about some new fresh talent they have, we will see how that manifests itself in the regular season but I think it's safe to assume they want to be back on top.

I think Montana is going to legitimately turn heads. People won't immediately respect them being from D2, but they got some new guys and didn't really graduate much. This is a very talented team throughout and should compete for a place in the top 4 of the league and possibly a Top 25 spot.

I think Washington could make a little noise and I think Oregon State graduated too much to really compete for this league's title.

D2:

I think you can honestly expect just 3 teams to make national noise here. Western Washington is the default leader by perception, and they should be able to impress nationally, however their current schedule on MCLA has no OOC games which is shocking, and depressing if it stays that way (I assume however for their sake that they have scheduled some good teams OOC).

Western Oregon gets their shot to show how far they've come so quickly, this team might have the most talent man for man in the league, but I don't know if they have a full-time coach to put it together. They have a California trip, but with just Pepperdine as a solid foe (UC Irvine is solid but not in Top 25 discussion per suspension) it leaves something to be desired. Would have liked to see them take on a Westminster or some other RMLC teams to see how they stack up, this just might cost them an at-large bid come May.

And Southern Oregon has some solid freshmen I saw this fall, and Dan Snell and Carter Boggess anchoring their superb defense. Losing Whitehead completely changes the face of this team, but Mark Brown ain't no slouch and they were executing last year without Whitehead and they didn't lose anyone to graduation. Since this team FINALLY has some bodies to throw out there look out.

I think that the games between these three schools will all be thrillers and everyone else will just wish they could compete this powerful triumvirate.

With apologies to PLU, UPS and Whitman, that's how I see it in 2008.

[Blynk22]

No apologies needed Will, looking from the outside in I would't give us much of a shot either. We lost 3 first team all conference studs in Weurffel, Kennedy, and Homer, and graduated our entire starting midfield line and another outstanding D-Pole in Chad Peterson. Luckily for us, we are returning 2 very experienced Seniors who are great stick handlers and very talkative in Johnny Telyea and Matt Meikle. The third D-pole will be fillled by Rich, a first year player but a tremendous athlete and a helluva load (6-4,220). I dont even like standing next to him in practice. His stick skills have come along nicely and he will be more than serviceable by the time the season rolls around.
We got another great athlete in Freshman James Tupper(6'3), a tall and deceptively fast kid with great closing speed, also a great knack for always being around the ball. His 4 years of success at the HS level will be a great addition to our starting Midfield line and give us a good workhorse in the transition game. We also have 3 other first year middies who are the best athletes we've had on the team as long as Ive been here, and I wouldn't be surprised if they all are making significant contributions at seasons end.
We are returning two key Seniors at midfield, Senior Captain Kevin Rose and David Stark. Kev has always been a consistent and reliable scoring threat, as well as a great set of wheels. Stark is our enforcer on defense, plays great body D and intimidates opposing middies. His length provides a great crease option on offense as well. Ben Resare is back in the cage after a season ending knee injury on our Michigan road trip last year. Until he went down, Ben was one of the top 3 keepers in the league, and knowing him he will be hungry to prove that he's back to his usual studdly self.
Sophomores Luke Hansen and Andrew Ratzke were big contributors last year for us as 1st and 2nd year players respectively at attack, and the three of us our continuing to gel as an attack unit. Luke is another speed demon for us, and has a very high Lacrosse IQ and understanding of the game for a young guy. He sees the field really well and is easily the best finish man on the team. My boy Rat does all of the little things that keeps us in games. He does a great job positioning himself for an outlet pass on clears, and the pressure he puts on rides is 2nd to none. As it looks rights now, we are also going to have a few more sets of legs on the bench which will keep our starters fresh deeper into the game than we were able to do last year with a limited roster.
Our success as a team this year will ultimately come down to how fast our new guys pick up the game and gel with the vets. We simply need to develop chemistry early on if we are going to challenge for the conference title. Considering our strong OOC schedule including trips to play the top 2 teams in the RMLC (Westminster and UVSC), I have no doubt that the trial by fire will be a great advantage for us when conference play picks up.

Sorry for the length, but someone had to effectively communicate our outlook to the rest of the league, and we all know that sure as hell isn't Bubba's specialty

[Steno]

thanks for the scouting reports, gents. see you all in the next few months.

[Mark Brown]

I think this will be the most interesting and competitive year in the PNCLL D-2 since SOU joined the league in 05. I believe WOU and WWU are definitely the favorites going into the season but I disagree with the idea of it being a three team race. I believe that the other teams that make the playoffs will be capable of knocking anyone off. This year will truly come down to who shows up to play and gives it their all each game. Kevin nailed it on what this means for National rankings, either there will be a handful or very few ranked teams. As for us finally having some bodies to throw out, well, I'm hoping to have 20 guys but will more likely be short of that. Just glad that the season is upon us, it should be fun and full of twists.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

The number of teams that end up ranked from our conference will depend mostly upon our showing in OOC games. Several teams in our conference are playing teams outside the conference - and it is critical that we play well in those games if we have any hope of sending multiple teams to Nationals. . .and maintain our reputation as one of the toughest D2 conferences in the country along with the RMLC.

I agree with Mark that this season really sets up as a wide open battle for the trip to Texas, and likely any of the 4 teams that battle in Montana at the end of the season will have a shot at winning the whole thing.

With that said, I hope the top 5 or 6 teams have a plan in place for raising the funds necessary to go to Texas if you win the PNCLL title. It is a good idea to start talking about it now, because if you wait until the 11th hour and you make a run in the tournament, coming up with $10-20,000 in less than two weeks will be extremely difficult if you haven't worked on a plan before that time.

I know many schools would be willing to help out a team bound for Nationals. . .it may be worth your time to start "dealing" with the athletic department now to see if they might be willing to contribute if your team wins a bid to Nationals.

I know I'm getting carried away here, but there's no substitution for preparation.

[Ryan Hanavan]

Well said Jason!

I'm looking forward to seeing how the PNCLL matches up against the other conferences this year. This is always an exciting time to sit back and think about all the what-ifs!

[Hi-Line Lax]

I was just looking around on the new PNCLL site (it's a little better) and saw that the PLU games in Utah have been cancelled... anybody got any info there?

[Timbalaned]

I was just looking around on the new PNCLL site (it's a little better)

Great picture Dan, I really like that one

[Dan Wishengrad]

I was just looking around on the new PNCLL site (it's a little better)

Great picture Dan, I really like that one

OMG!!!!!!! The Horror!!!! I mean if Daryl was going to drag a photo from the past out of mothballs I actually have a couple flattering ones from the 70's, but this "thing" from 2002 he used is... well, it is almost beyond the descriptive power of words to do it full justice.

Mr. Fernquist, I don't have an unflattering photo of you, my friend, but if I ever get my hands on one be very, very certain that I will see to it that it gets widely distributed across cyberspace!! Hee hee hee hee

[DarylF]

Dan:

As mentioned in my earlier email...when I was looking for photos for the new PNCLL banner rotation I didn't have much to select from. However when I saw your jolly old self in that one photo I just couldn't help myself!!

What I wanted were shots that defined the PNCLL. I think I succeeded with that one.

By the way for those who just can't wait for the proper banner to come up, you can always click here:

http://www.pncll.com/images/rotation/header3.jpg

If anyone would like to make this their screen saver I'm sure I can send along the LARGE version.

Daryl
PS I guess I can expect a knock on the door from "Vito" anytime now. By the way Dan...I've moved

[GrizLens]

Hey Daryl, PNCLL site is looking good! If you are still looking for art, you're more than welcome to peruse the photo archive at GrizLAX.com. Mostly D2 stuff, but feel free to use anything you like.

[Dan Wishengrad]

Daryl, I won't get mad but I WILL get even. Waiting for response from your Mom to see if I can get my hands on a cute naked bathtub pic from your infancy -- or maybe your adolescence -- to post here.

Be afraid, be very afraid....

PS Vito charges way too much to break legs these days... but maybe I can hire Ricky Clark to bite your ankle?

[plulax00]

The PLU trip to Utah was cancelled after the Captains and Coaches discussed the pros and cons of the trip. With not knowing what weather conditions will be like, and having a young team we decided to cancel the trip. So we are trying to get 2-3 games down in Sunny California.