2007 Summit Lacrosse Tournament in Lake Placid, NY

OWU Legends Take Overtime Win vs. Denison in SGM Division

Tuesday, September 4, 2007
By Pete Lee ’65

For the seventh consecutive year, former Ohio Wesleyan lacrosse players competed at the Summit Lacrosse Tournament in Lake Placid, New York, in the Open Division (age 22+), and Super Grand Masters (Age 50+) division. The Men’s Open Division were represented by Bigfoot/OWU Elite team composed of current and recently graduated Bishops and coached by Chris Cortina '98. Two other Open Division Teams, organized by Jeff Coulson, Class of ’71, provided the opportunity for OWU alumni to also compete in this division:  Indoor Action Sports Team Breakaway and The Coaches’ Eye. The Summit Tournament (held August 8-12) featured 90 teams competing in seven divisions and is one of the major amateur lacrosse events in the U.S. for top male and female college and club players during the summer.

One of the major highlights of the tournament was the 5-4 third overtime period win by the OWU Legends Super Grand Master (SGM) Team versus Denison on the first day of the tournament. After battling to a 4-4 tie in regulation time, the Legends and Denison came up empty in both the first and second overtime periods. In the third overtime period, Paul Myers (’74) took a great bounce shot on goal. The Denison goalie was unable to handle the shot and Jerry Lynott, 2nd year player with the OWU Legends SGM team (Gettysburg - ’77, Hudson, Ohio) put the rebound over the goalie’s left shoulder igniting a sideline celebration of OWU over Denison! The OWU Legends victory over Denison and the continued rivalry between the respective universities made front page headlines in the Lake Placid News. Log onto this link for the full story: www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=3729. The Legends SGM team ended up with a tournament record of 2-2 and a 4th place finish after losing to the USA Stars by a last minute winning score ending the contest at 10-9.

The Bigfoot/OWU Elite Team comprised primarily of current OWU players and alumni, competing in their 2nd Lake Placid Tournament, under team organizer Chris Cortina ’98 had a solid outing. In their second game, Bigfoot/OWU Elite opened a lot of eyes as they gave two-time Open Champion, Graph-Tex, their toughest game losing by a single score (10-9) after leading in the game most of the way. The Graph-Tex team roster was a “who’s who” of Division I teams (Syracuse, Cornell) and former MLL players and won this year’s championship title again. Bigfoot/OWU Elite finished 6th place in the tournament with a 2-2 record in the most competitive division of the tournament. They are already getting ready for next year and hope to improve upon their record as several of the losses in the initial round were by the margin of only one goal!

Jeff Coulson’s respective teams, IAS Team Breakaway and The Coaches’ Eye were also extremely competitive in the Open Division. Although the IAS Team Breakaway squad ended up with a 1-3 record and an overall tournament finish in 8th place, two of their games were lost by a single goal; their 11-10 loss to the Raymour & Flannigan Team was especially heart-breaking as they went on to play for the Open Division Championship on Sunday, and lost to perennial champion, Graph-Tex by a score of 11-9. Sorrel Coulson, OWU team captain in 2002, played for IAS Team Breakaway team and his Atlanta based Breakaway Sports store helped to sponsor the team.

As a first year team competing in the tournament, The Coaches’ Eye had a tougher outing in the tournament with a 1-3 record and a 9th place finish. Three of the losses in their bracket were by a one goal differential and the players are anxious to return next year and improve upon their record. Current OWU player, Chas Narwicz, 2011 played and contributed to the effort of the Coaches’ Eye team.

The OWU Legends were well represented in the inaugural Past Masters Game (players over 61 years old) in the Lake Placid Tournament. “Youngsters” Jeff Coulson ’71 and Pete Lee ’65 had the energy and “legs” to get on the field for an 8:30 am game on the second day of the tournament playing for the “blue team” which defeated their counter parts 9-2. “Wonder Wheels” Coulson played both midfield and attack and even managed to score a goal or two, including a few assists to his teammates!

The OWU players young and old gathered together Saturday night at a roof-top reception co-hosted by Annie Griffith Seiler '75, from the University Relations division of Ohio Wesleyan, and Steve Corrigan ’74, Chris Cortina ’98, and Pete Lee ’65, from the OWU Lacrosse Alumni Association. Special recognition went to OWU Legends “rookie” alumni who played in the tournament for the first time—George Conrades ’61 and Bill Borland ‘76; Bill had a grand showing in the tournament as he scored one of the 5 goals versus Denison in the opening game of the tournament.

The Summit Tournament at Lake Placid continues to be a great event for OWU lacrosse and a wonderful reunion for players and their families. We would encourage any former players to consider either playing or supporting the teams and becoming an OWU Legend. If any OWU alumni are interested in joining one of the present teams, including a women’s team, or organizing one in the other divisions please contact Steve Corrigan '74 at stevecorrigan2@hotmail.com.