“Trying hard in the gym made me a better play because I had that edge,” Dennis said.
awakening. “If you watch the game film, during timeouts, we’re singing along to the music, dancing, having a blast as a team. That’s what lacrosse is all about. It’s a fun sport. When you’re freaking out, you don’t play your best.” The Titans’ women’s team
saw some success in 2013, too. They made it to the Atlantic Sun championship game, losing to Jacksonville. It was Detroit Mercy’s seventh straight loss to the Dolphins, their conference nemesis. Sophomore midfielder Kylie Birney (Mike’s sister, and one of seven Michigan natives on the women’s roster) would like to see that change in 2014. “They’ve been the top level
in our league, so it’s our goal to get to that game and to win. We’re inching closer to that,” Kylie Birney said. Both Detroit Mercy teams
spend significant time in the weight room, and they have some unusual ways of getting fit outside the gym (see page 42). Kylie Birney, a former track and field athlete who also spent nine years studying Irish dance, is the fittest person on the women’s squad. She’s a small but lightning fast player who can run two miles in less than 12 minutes. “I probably shouldn’t say
this, but I do kinda like sprinting drills and agility work,” Kylie Birney said. Men’s senior midfielder
Troy Dennis has loved working out since he was a kid — he always wanted to tag along when his father, Ike, went to the gym. He earned his reputation as the Titans’ top gym rat during his sophomore year, when he crushed a pushup competition. Over six months, Dennis did 59,652 pushups, about 26,000 more than the runner-up “It was big for me because it
showed I had enough strength to push myself,” Dennis said. “Anytime I had a chance to do
38 LACROSSE MAGAZINE November 2013 >> A Publication of US Lacrosse
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