Texas Lacrosse Alumni and Parents:

The coaching staff is excited and enjoying the cool days of fall ball. If only this rain would let up some! We have a good core group of returning players who are leading the team and setting a good example for the talented freshman class. However, we are all thinking about how to move forward after losing a strong group of senior leaders. The 2009 class was a strong group of ten seniors who all will be missed.

2009 in Review:

The 2009 Texas Lacrosse Season was a historic one. The Horns set the bar higher each season. The team finished with a final record of 17-4. We finished the season with a tough loss to Michigan, the eventual 2009 MCLA champion. The final MCLA poll had the Horns at No. 14, but this team proved that we should have been higher.

In an exciting LSA conference tournament, the boys came out and avenged a regular season loss to SMU. In front of about 2,000 Austin fans, the team came through with a 11-9 win in the semi over the Mustangs. In the final game the team squared up with UNT. Every player on the team got a chance to play with the squad having a lead at big as nine going into the fourth.

Once we got over the bitter ending to the season with a tough loss to Wolverines, we certainly saw the positives steps we took as a team this in 2009. Winning the conference championship this season is no easy task. The LSA is getting stronger and more competitive. A&M was strong as always last year, but Texas State, SMU and UNT all will continue to improve and challenge us.

The 2009 class will offer ten great players to the alumni ranks:

On the attack side, Evans Swann, the team's leading scorer will be a tough man to replace. Most of you remember him sneaking around the cage from X and shooting with low angle.

At the midfield, we say goodbye to Paul McCloud, three year captain and all-league player. Alex Kroviak, who has been a four year starter, also moved on. Kro played in every game in his four years and changed his game to help the team as needed. Stephen Brandewie is also a four year player who perhaps was the best midfield defender that we had. Warren Williamson, who served as treasurer his senior year, played wherever the team needed him. A versatile player, Warren played defense, man-down, and last season worked as the team's clearing middie.

On defense, the team loses two starting defenseman, captain Max Atherton and Mark Anderlik. These two anchored a strong, cohesive defense and kept the team in close games. Jimmy Lesassier and Dennis Chang also played key roles in the strong defense we had. They both played numerous positions and were consummate team players. Towers Wilen was a two year starter in the cage for the Horns. He was a team leader, on and off the field, and will be missed along with the rest of last year's graduating class.

Fall Ball Thoughts:

Over seventy players came to us in the fall with interest in playing for the team. After a month of practice the team is where we expect it to stay heading into the spring. We have 41 players on the roster and strong competition at every position. The attack is eight deep on the depth chart and the fight will be intense for the top five spots. Midfield is our deepest position with seventeen strong players competing for playing time. We still don¹t know how we will run the midfield. Last season we moved away from running defensive midfielders and played three lines equally on both sides of the field. As we are deeper than last season at midfield, we expect to play this way again, but no decisions have been made yet.

Defensively we have a great fight going on for a starting goalie. All three of our goalies are competing hard and trying to get to the top of the ladder. It is great to have three talented keepers and the competition is making them each better in practice. Long poles is our area of greatest concern. We have some great talent at the top, but we still have yet to see a strong group of back-ups step up and fight for playing time.

More Random Thoughts:

The coaching staff welcomes Mike Gerbesh (Williams) to the staff (http://www.utlacrosse.com/coaches.html). Mike is a great addition to the staff and is doing a great job working with the goalies. Jon Nickel, a UT grad, is back for his sixth season and will be helping with all aspects of the team on the field and also will have an intense focus off the field on the alumni. Expect to hear from him soon. Tim Riley, a former Division III star at Ithaca, is back for his third season and will be focusing on the defense. Tim is a great role model as a player who will be playing for the Swedish national team this summer in the Lacrosse World Games. Dennis Rugg, who played NCAA ball at Merrimack, is back for season number two. Dennis will be focus on the mid-fielders, face-offs and offense. The staff is very energetic and excited about the season.