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Conventional wisdom regarding Wittenberg's men's lacrosse program in 2012 is that graduation losses will be too much to overcome. Coming off the two best seasons in program history, the term "rebuilding" has even entered the discussion.
However, there are nine seniors on the 2012 roster, and they are working hard to build a legacy of their own. Achieving the previously unthinkable — a three-peat of North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championships and NCAA Division III Tournament berths — is what this group has in mind, despite all of the holes Head Coach George Harris must fill.
A good place to start is in goal, where senior Spencer Baker (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) finally gets his chance to shine. After appearing in 14 games, including 10 starting assignments, in his first two years in the Red & White, Baker patiently waited his turn a year ago as Mark DeOliveira became Wittenberg's first NCAC Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year.
Freshmen Jesse Langer (New York, NY/Salisbury School) and Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) are battling with Baker for playing time between the pipes.
Baker will be operating with an almost entirely new defensive unit, which figures to make his task of replacing a future Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor inductee that much more daunting. All three starting defensemen graduated in 2011, although there is experience returning in the form of seniors Charles Harreys (Essex, Conn./Valley Regional) and William Emery (Columbus, Ohio/Wellington School), who finished 2011 with 17 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers between them.
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Sophomores Hunter Bastian (Knoxville, Tenn./Horace Greeley) and Jacob Gilbert (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and freshman Nick Bergenty (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) are also in the defensive mix.
Senior Michael Cocking (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) is the team's top returning long-stick midfielder after earning second-team All-NCAC honors a year ago. He finished with 26 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers after ranking second on the team in 2010 with 46 ground balls.
Senior Lynn Crum (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) also returns after contributing eight ground balls in nine games in 2011. In addition, senior Elliot Avis (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) was the team's face-off specialist in 2011. He won 58 percent of his draws and ranked second on the team in ground balls with 52 a year ago.
Also in the mix for playing time are freshman John Haeling (Briarcliff, NY/Briarcliff) and freshman Riley Boehm (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), who is competing for face-off opportunities.
Moving into the attacking third of the field, midfielder Alex Previte (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) is back after following up his 2010 NCAC Newcomer of the Year award with first-team all-conference honors in 2011. He ranked third on the team in both goals (22) and assists (11) a year ago to go along with 34 ground balls.
He will be joined by a trio of seniors in Jim Ferris (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids), who finished with five goals a year ago, Jimmy Luckino (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and George Gion (Northfield, Ill./New Trier), who chipped in with four goals and four assists. New to the rotation in 2012 is sophomore Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights), who missed his entire freshman year due to injury.
On the attack, the Tigers lost five of their top six scorers from 2011, but there is experience in this area as well. The leading returners are sophomore Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) and junior Tyler Hall (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Twp.), who finished with matching stat lines of eight goals and three assists a year ago. Top contenders for playing time include freshmen Andrew Morrison (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) and Lewis Thompson (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown).
Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photos By: Erin Pence