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WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Men's lacrosse starts strong
Chris Roe
Staff Writer
Lacrosse coach Tom Carmean sat in his chair,
reflecting upon a team that means much to
him — team that has turned a drastic page from last
year into a force that dominates on the field. But, to
Carmean, what really matters is not last year, but his
team's determined commitment for the game and a
successful future.
"Quite frankly it's just not my style or my business
what went on (last year)," said Carmean. "My
business is what I am able to help these guys with
and what Tam able to do. For the most part, or 99
percent of it, (they are) just enormously receptive to
what we were asking them to do and I tell them that
all the time."
Both Carmean and assistant coach Nate Bates
recognized the challenge, but at the same time they
welcomed it.
"I knew (coming to Guilford) was going to be a big
challenge," said Bates. "But (I am) definitely excited
about it. I knew Guilford by academic reputation and
obviously the lacrosse conference is the best in the
country."
The team has become very cohesive and inclusive,
showing great leadership. According to Bates, this
team is one of the smoothest that he has worked
with. All players receive equal consideration.
"We're family, and having a close team we do
everything together," said senior goalie Mark
Guillen. "We've (seniors) taken them (underclass
players) under our wing. I wanted to leave a mark
and make sure these guys work hard to change this
program. Amazing players, amazing guys, the bond
that we've developed. It is sad that we have to leave
them. All in all, they're great guys and fun to be
around."
The team goes by the mentality that building
young players is essential.
"Experience is something difficult to fabricate,"
said Carmean. "(There is) no way to make up for
experience."
As the new players get playing time, their
skills have been improving, and they are showing
promise. The defense, comprised of three players,
are first-years and sophomores. However, according
to Carmean, they may very well be one of the top
groups in the conference.
One of the first steps was reforming what to do
in the team's practices. Both Carmean and Bates
approached the development through teaching, in
which they brought back fundamentals.
But it is not just simply about playing on the field,
but off the field as well.
"I think that it's a great opportunity to give the
kids who come to Guilford a great experience, not
wins and losses on the lacrosse field," said Carmean.
"But as a whole, their experience as lacrosse players
is a hugely beneficial part of their school experience."
The season shows more promise. Over 'the years,
there may well be a champion team rolling through.
"It has been a really interesting year for me," said
Carmean, looking forward. "You get really rewarded
to see all these positive things happening in front of
you."
SPORTS
The madness of March
The pencil hits the paper.
Michigan over Tennessee. North
Carolina over Washington.
Arizona over Duke. Penn. State
over Temple. Scratch, erase marks
colonize the page. Temple over
Penn. State, Duke over Arizona.
That is the sound of millions
of Americans filling out their
brackets for the men's basket
ball National Collegiate Athletic
Association Championships.
Otherwise known as the Big
Dance or March Madness, this
college sports tournament is a
national phenomenon. The men's
basketball NCAA Championship
has taken the country by storm.
March Madness is a sports fan's
ultimate dream, which features
competitive basketball games that
begin March 15 and end with the
title game on April 4. The tourna
ment is called March Madness
because of the amount of games
played in March and the fact that
any team in the expanded field of
68 teams can win the champion
ship.
In 2010, fifth seeded Butler
beat top teams Michigan State,
Syracuse, and Kansas State to
reach the national title game.
Upsets are common in the tourna
ment as only one number one seed
made it to the final four last year
and most of the number two and
three seeds were eliminated by the
sweet 16.
The tournament is also making
waves for the future of television.
Turner Broadcasting System and
CBS combined to broadcast the
tournament this year. The mega
deal cost $10.8 billion dollars that
will last until 2024, according to
CNN.
According to ABC News, the
networks will give 96 percent of
their profits back to the NCAA
over the course of the partnership.
They're estimating that this will
come out to $740 million dollars,
which accounts for the money
LZ
spent on the championship and
the series.
This translates into games airing
on four major television networks;
CBS, TBS, TNT, and Tru TV. Last
year, the national championship
game attained 16 million view
ers, who witnessed Duke defeat
Butler, 61-59.This was a 70 per
cent increase over the 2009 final
matchup between North Carolina
and Michigan State, according to
NCAA.org.
Now, watching the madness
unfold on TV is not enough. The
amount of live streaming video
and audio consumed via March
Madness On Demand for the 2010
tournament surpassed 2009's total
by 36 percent.
More than 11.7 million hours
of live streaming video and audio
were accessed by the end of the
2010 men's final four, according to
NCAA.org.
This year, the first full day of
March Madness that spanned over
the four major networks averaged
7.4 million viewers. That is 16 per
cent higher from last year, and
more viewers are expected to tune
in as the tournament progresses,
according to ABC News.
Now it is time for picks. The
2011 tournament field is crazier
than ever. The final four is wide
open in my opinion. My final four
are Syracuse, Duke, Kansas, and
Wisconsin.
The two teams that will arrive at
the championship game are Duke
and Kansas. The Final Verdict:
Kansas defeats Duke 77-75 in a
close one at the buzzer.
Guilford men's lacrosse players in opposing jerseys charge down the field during afternoon practice
average fin
ish of the golf I
team over
their seven
events this
season. The
Quakers are
coming off a
first place fin
ish at the Pine
Needles Intercollegiate.
men’s and
women’s tennis
teams against
Guilford in
the March 19
match. The
Quakers won both matches
does first-year Ashley Boteler.