MAY MADNESS MEN
No Moral Victor A
After giving Syracuse fans palpitations, Bryant eyes return to the big dance
By Nathan Maciborski
t this time last year, the bloggers and the armchair pundits were having a fi eld day at Bryant’s expense.
A MONTH OF MADNESS
May 4 – NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday May 7 – Division I men’s play-in games May 7/10 – Division III men’s 1st and 2nd rounds May 8 – Division III women’s 1st round May 9/11 – Division I women’s 1st and 2nd rounds May 10 – Division II men’s 1st round May 10 – Division II women’s fi rst round May 10/11 – Division I men’s 1st round
May 14 – Division III men’s quarterfi nals May 17 – Division I men’s quarterfi nals (Hempstead, N.Y.) May 17 – Division II women’s semifi nals (Salem, Va.) May 17 – Division III women’s 2nd round May 17/18 – Division I women’s quarterfi nals May 18 – Division I men’s quarterfi nals (Newark, Del.) May 18 – Division II women’s fi nal (Salem, Va.) May 18 – Division III men’s semifi nals May 18 – Division II men’s semifi nals May 18 – Division III women’s quarterfi nals
May 23 – Division I women’s semifi nals (Towson, Md.) May 24 – Division I men’s semifi nals (Baltimore) May 24 – Division III women’s semifi nals (Gettysburg, Pa.) May 25 – Division I women’s fi nal (Towson, Md.) May 25 – Division III men’s fi nal (Baltimore) May 25 – Division II men’s fi nal (Baltimore) May 25 – Division III women’s fi nal (Gettysburg, Pa.) May 26 – Division I men’s fi nal (Baltimore)
Above: Will Charlie Raffa and Maryland bring their state pride to Baltimore?
Right: Bryant’s Gunnar Waldt has emerged this season as one of the nation’s top goalies.
50 LACROSSE MAGAZINE May 2014>>
As the Northeast Conference- champion Bulldogs prepared to take on top-seeded Syracuse at the Carrier Dome in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA tournament, bad puns and references to Bryant Gumbel littered the blogosphere. Even the more reputable sources openly questioned what an 8-10 team was doing in the big dance while blue bloods like Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Virginia sat at home. But Bryant’s foray into shark-infested waters wasn’t the bloodbath it was supposed to be. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead and, thanks to a dominant 22-for-23 faceoff performance by Kevin Massa, were within two goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter before fi nally succumbing to the Orange 12-7. The nationally televised Mother’s Day game helped put Bryant on the map. But inside the locker room, there was no backslapping for a job well done. Coach Mike Pressler looked his players in the eyes and told them in no uncertain terms: This was no moral victory. The aspirations of a Bryant program that was in Division II just six years ago and wasn’t eligible for the Division I championship until 2011 extend far beyond a fi rst-round exit.
“In that moment, even though our season was over, I was coaching [this] year’s team,” Pressler said. “It would be so easy just to be satisfi ed with that, and there was no way I was going to allow that to happen.”
The momentum has carried over to 2014. Ten games in, the Bulldogs stood at 8-2 with wins over Albany, Drexel and Bucknell. The formula hasn’t changed much. Massa has been dominant, while sophomore Gunnar Waldt (all 5-foot-11, 245 pounds of him) has emerged as one of the best goalies in the nation.
Bryant put greater emphasis on shooting percentage, starting with senior attackman Dan Sipperly. Colin Dunster and Alex Zomerfeld, two four- year starters who were selected in the 2014 MLL Collegiate Draft, have been key two-way middies for the Bulldogs. While Bryant continues its slow, steady rise to national prominence, much work remains before it can reap the benefi ts that come with having the brand recognition of a Syracuse or Virginia. It may be some time before high school All-Americans stop asking where Bryant is. (Smithfi eld, Rhode Island. Enrollment: 3,180.) But those very challenges have contributed to Bryant’s success. Without the ability to land the nation’s marquee recruits, Pressler and his staff scour every last corner of the lacrosse landscape looking for guys who exhibit three qualities, even above athletic skill: competitive spirit, selfl ess attitude and tremendous work ethic. Then, they have to be willing to be coached.
“The top teams just recruit ’em and let ’em go. We’ve got to develop our players here,” said Pressler, who turned Duke from an ACC doormat into a perennial power in 16 seasons before he was fi red amid wrongful rape allegations against three former players. “We’re not going to get the marquee top-20 recruit. But if we can get guys who are athletic and possess those personal qualities and develop them, then in two years we can catch those [top teams] and hopefully surpass them.” Bryant’s roster includes players from 12 states. Its top defenseman, Matt
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN STROHSACKER (CR); ©RICH BARNES (GW)
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