Ivy League

[wgdsr]

Ah, I see the Ivy League Forum is populated with true believers.

For those Dr. Fauci fans among you, perhaps you didn't see that he came out today (as he did a month ago) fully in favor of opening our schools in the fall. Of course, he changes his tune daily so who knows what he'll say tomorrow.

Any of the data regarding risk to college students is right on the CDC site, if you care to spend the time looking at it. In any case, I'll just reprint here what I posted in another forum earlier this week concerning colleges opening in the fall:

Approximately 112,000 Americans have died from Covid, 142 of those were age 15-24, and I can only assume that many or all of those young people had pre-existing health issues. During that same time period 51 people age 15-24 died of Influenza. Not to mention car accidents, other accidents, other disease, suicide and on and on. People die, and it's sad, and by discussing the data no one wishes to diminish the value of the lives lost, or the suffering those people endured. But the overall risk to college students from Covid is demonstrably and incontrovertibly tiny.

Moreover, as pointed out, there are workarounds to the risks on college campuses, even in athletics, and every student and professor should have the choice to do whatever they are comfortable doing. If you don't feel comfortable playing lacrosse this season, just don't play. Sit this year out.

It is my belief that the collateral damage to our young people associated with locking them in their homes, preventing them from spending time with friends and participating in athletics, and degrading their college experience is and will be a far, far more serious threat to their well being than Covid.

Appreciate the response JB, though I don't consider it the be all and end all of analysis regarding Covid and its' potential impact on colleges and college sports. As far as your criticism of Dr. Fauci, all the science and data people you want to rely on to get decisions made are still getting to know this virus on every level: health, economic, social etc. The "everybody should go it alone as far as determining what behavior they want to exhibit regarding this virus and its' impact" is a questionable tactic at best, not currently working out as well as most of us would like in terms of helping America return to a more near normal, and unlikely to do so for various businesses and institutions as well. There are a number of countries and institutions whose behaviors have been far more effective in helping things return to normal, and it seems like the US might have to start implementing some of them to avoid having the virus and its' collateral damage linger on even more emphatically and impactfully than it already has. At the moment it appears about 60% of the country isn't in the mood to fully indulge in the behavior you would like them to exhibit. Should the recent uptick in cases and deaths continue for any prolonged amount of time, I would be surprised if that number doesn't continue to rise, and lead to a considerably greater amount of people opting for less rather than more exposure.

there hasn't been a recent uptick in deaths for any 7 day average. we'll know about any recent new trends there in a couple days or longer.

[calourie]

Ah, I see the Ivy League Forum is populated with true believers.

For those Dr. Fauci fans among you, perhaps you didn't see that he came out today (as he did a month ago) fully in favor of opening our schools in the fall. Of course, he changes his tune daily so who knows what he'll say tomorrow.

Any of the data regarding risk to college students is right on the CDC site, if you care to spend the time looking at it. In any case, I'll just reprint here what I posted in another forum earlier this week concerning colleges opening in the fall:

Approximately 112,000 Americans have died from Covid, 142 of those were age 15-24, and I can only assume that many or all of those young people had pre-existing health issues. During that same time period 51 people age 15-24 died of Influenza. Not to mention car accidents, other accidents, other disease, suicide and on and on. People die, and it's sad, and by discussing the data no one wishes to diminish the value of the lives lost, or the suffering those people endured. But the overall risk to college students from Covid is demonstrably and incontrovertibly tiny.

Moreover, as pointed out, there are workarounds to the risks on college campuses, even in athletics, and every student and professor should have the choice to do whatever they are comfortable doing. If you don't feel comfortable playing lacrosse this season, just don't play. Sit this year out.

It is my belief that the collateral damage to our young people associated with locking them in their homes, preventing them from spending time with friends and participating in athletics, and degrading their college experience is and will be a far, far more serious threat to their well being than Covid.

Appreciate the response JB, though I don't consider it the be all and end all of analysis regarding Covid and its' potential impact on colleges and college sports. As far as your criticism of Dr. Fauci, all the science and data people you want to rely on to get decisions made are still getting to know this virus on every level: health, economic, social etc. The "everybody should go it alone as far as determining what behavior they want to exhibit regarding this virus and its' impact" is a questionable tactic at best, not currently working out as well as most of us would like in terms of helping America return to a more near normal, and unlikely to do so for various businesses and institutions as well. There are a number of countries and institutions whose behaviors have been far more effective in helping things return to normal, and it seems like the US might have to start implementing some of them to avoid having the virus and its' collateral damage linger on even more emphatically and impactfully than it already has. At the moment it appears about 60% of the country isn't in the mood to fully indulge in the behavior you would like them to exhibit. Should the recent uptick in cases and deaths continue for any prolonged amount of time, I would be surprised if that number doesn't continue to rise, and lead to a considerably greater amount of people opting for less rather than more exposure.

there hasn't been a recent uptick in deaths for any 7 day average. we'll know about any recent new trends there in a couple days or longer.

Was thinking of the surges in Fla., Tex., Cal., and various states which does look like it will break the 7 day trend line for the country this week. Like you say, we shall see soon enough.

[pcowlax]

So, no fall sports at all in 2020... or in 2020/21 school year.

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/artic ... els-sports

Thanks for the update Fann. No real surprises here. Feels a bit inevitable. I think many schools will follow suit, though I think there aren't too many schools as solicitous of the health of their faculty members as the Ivies. With more and more young people in Florida, Texas and elsewhere getting infected fears appear to be growing concerning the long range health effects on that previously less considered portion of the populations as well. Hopefully some real progress is made on the health front which will enable the spring season to happen. Too far out to worry about that now. I think the Ivies made the prudent decision for themselves at the moment for leaving their real reason for being ("raison d'être" for the truly, bi-lingually scholarly among us) intact.

Their real reason for being is hardly intact judging by the plans for the scholastic year that Harvard and Princeton have unveiled, which rely primarily on the miserable failure that is online learning.

This was a decision borne of fear, not science supported by data. If this is the best that our brightest can do, we're all in big trouble.

The Ivy League has been ahead of the curve in virtually all matters Covid. This is not a decision based on fear, but on facts. Those facts are, other than a few states in the Northeast - NY, NJ, CT in particular - that this country has done an abysmal job in handling, controlling, and mitigating this virus. The President and certain governors in the South and West have chosen to ignore science and data and experts. Instead of taking proven and simple steps and measure to control the virus - masks, social distancing, testing, tracing and the gradual and sensible reopening of society b= they politicized these basic measures. The failure of a uniform national policy and the failure to take these steps have not only squandered the progress made from March to May, but have resulted in an explosion of cases (and now hospitalizations) in the US that is rivaled globally only by Brazil. The handling of this crisis by some of our leaders will go down in history as one of the dumbest, most ignorant, and cruelest decisions in US history. Don't blame the Ivies. They are reacting to the current situation, which is, unfortunately, as dire as things were if not worse than when they decided to close schools in March.

There is a reason why the NY-NJ-CT area was able to go from the hottest of hot Covid spots to the lowest infection and positive test rates in the US (while testing more than other states by huge margins). It was not because the governors of those states were stupid, but because they were smart and recognized the threat this virus poses to the physical, mental, and economic health of their residents. If those three states could bring the positive test results down to 1% and the infection rate to .7 %, think what the rest of the US , which had fractional levels of cases as these states, could have done by taking the same measures. Instead, the false bravado and refusal to follow science and data has taken us to where we are now - 60,.000 cases a day and rising geometrically. Unfortunately, the cancellation of fall sports by the Ivies is likely the first domino of many that will fall-- again - as the USA shuts down - again.

Well said, Chousnake-- I'm a retiree living in South Florida, painfully aware of the consequences of leadership missteps. Good job, Ivies.

Well said???? Is Chousnake living in another universe? COVID was handle worse in NY than literally anywhere else in the world outside of some principalities. If it was a country, it’s per capita death rate dwarfs any country (as do CT and NJ). Cuomo insisting on nursing homes take back active COVID patients is what will go down as the dumbest decision in political history. That one decision literally (and I mean literally literally) is proximally responsible for the deaths of thousands. The per capita of CT and NJ is also abysmal (somewhat due to idiotic leaders, somewhat due to proximity to the fetid hellscape of NY). The reason levels have come down there relate to immunity factors not yet well understood. COVID is moving around the country, it was in northeast first, now it is south and west. While CT burned, those states you mock DID have infection rates of 1%. Now its their turn. In CT now there are plenty of people out and about without masks, plenty of parties and gatherings. There were sure as hell no wise political decisions or deft plans here. While the northeast was being ravaged, all of the rest of the country WAS shutdown, for months, when they had very few cases. During this time 45 million people lost their jobs (how many people do you know who lost their job chousnake, I’m guessing not many). The country had to open again, had to. The economic harm was going to swamp that of COVID. Ideally Arizona, Florida and the rest would have been open while NY was shut down and then would have shut down themselves a few weeks ago when the spread started there. However, since virtually the whole country shut down together in a panic, states that were minimally affected burned through their economic cushion too early. They could not, could not stay shut down from March through, what, October? December? Outside of Cuomo, there is little impact that any state’s handling will have on the ultimate numbers. States’ numbers will reflect their population adjusted for urban density and maybe international flights. For weeks the cases in CT far outstripped TX, CA and FL. Those are huge states with huge populations, that was never going to stay the cases and the fact that it was that way for weeks had zero to do with any policies in those states.

[laxfan1313]

So, no fall sports at all in 2020... or in 2020/21 school year.

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/artic ... els-sports

Thanks for the update Fann. No real surprises here. Feels a bit inevitable. I think many schools will follow suit, though I think there aren't too many schools as solicitous of the health of their faculty members as the Ivies. With more and more young people in Florida, Texas and elsewhere getting infected fears appear to be growing concerning the long range health effects on that previously less considered portion of the populations as well. Hopefully some real progress is made on the health front which will enable the spring season to happen. Too far out to worry about that now. I think the Ivies made the prudent decision for themselves at the moment for leaving their real reason for being ("raison d'être" for the truly, bi-lingually scholarly among us) intact.

Their real reason for being is hardly intact judging by the plans for the scholastic year that Harvard and Princeton have unveiled, which rely primarily on the miserable failure that is online learning.

This was a decision borne of fear, not science supported by data. If this is the best that our brightest can do, we're all in big trouble.

The Ivy League has been ahead of the curve in virtually all matters Covid. This is not a decision based on fear, but on facts. Those facts are, other than a few states in the Northeast - NY, NJ, CT in particular - that this country has done an abysmal job in handling, controlling, and mitigating this virus. The President and certain governors in the South and West have chosen to ignore science and data and experts. Instead of taking proven and simple steps and measure to control the virus - masks, social distancing, testing, tracing and the gradual and sensible reopening of society b= they politicized these basic measures. The failure of a uniform national policy and the failure to take these steps have not only squandered the progress made from March to May, but have resulted in an explosion of cases (and now hospitalizations) in the US that is rivaled globally only by Brazil. The handling of this crisis by some of our leaders will go down in history as one of the dumbest, most ignorant, and cruelest decisions in US history. Don't blame the Ivies. They are reacting to the current situation, which is, unfortunately, as dire as things were if not worse than when they decided to close schools in March.

There is a reason why the NY-NJ-CT area was able to go from the hottest of hot Covid spots to the lowest infection and positive test rates in the US (while testing more than other states by huge margins). It was not because the governors of those states were stupid, but because they were smart and recognized the threat this virus poses to the physical, mental, and economic health of their residents. If those three states could bring the positive test results down to 1% and the infection rate to .7 %, think what the rest of the US , which had fractional levels of cases as these states, could have done by taking the same measures. Instead, the false bravado and refusal to follow science and data has taken us to where we are now - 60,.000 cases a day and rising geometrically. Unfortunately, the cancellation of fall sports by the Ivies is likely the first domino of many that will fall-- again - as the USA shuts down - again.

Well said, Chousnake-- I'm a retiree living in South Florida, painfully aware of the consequences of leadership missteps. Good job, Ivies.

Well said???? Is Chousnake living in another universe? COVID was handle worse in NY than literally anywhere else in the world outside of some principalities. If it was a country, it’s per capita death rate dwarfs any country (as do CT and NJ). Cuomo insisting on nursing homes take back active COVID patients is what will go down as the dumbest decision in political history. That one decision literally (and I mean literally literally) is proximally responsible for the deaths of thousands. The per capita of CT and NJ is also abysmal (somewhat due to idiotic leaders, somewhat due to proximity to the fetid hellscape of NY). The reason levels have come down there relate to immunity factors not yet well understood. COVID is moving around the country, it was in northeast first, now it is south and west. While CT burned, those states you mock DID have infection rates of 1%. Now its their turn. In CT now there are plenty of people out and about without masks, plenty of parties and gatherings. There were sure as hell no wise political decisions or deft plans here. While the northeast was being ravaged, all of the rest of the country WAS shutdown, for months, when they had very few cases. During this time 45 million people lost their jobs (how many people do you know who lost their job chousnake, I’m guessing not many). The country had to open again, had to. The economic harm was going to swamp that of COVID. Ideally Arizona, Florida and the rest would have been open while NY was shut down and then would have shut down themselves a few weeks ago when the spread started there. However, since virtually the whole country shut down together in a panic, states that were minimally affected burned through their economic cushion too early. They could not, could not stay shut down from March through, what, October? December? Outside of Cuomo, there is little impact that any state’s handling will have on the ultimate numbers. States’ numbers will reflect their population adjusted for urban density and maybe international flights. For weeks the cases in CT far outstripped TX, CA and FL. Those are huge states with huge populations, that was never going to stay the cases and the fact that it was that way for weeks had zero to do with any policies in those states.

My thoughts exactly. Cuomo has the blood of thousands of nursing home victims on his hands.

[palaxoff]

Bottom line is we are in uncharted waters, and I am not optimistic.

One quick antidote, It is spiking in South Jersey and it appears it is directly related to younger people socializing. As a friend often reminds me, from about age 14 to 22 the concept of consequence is lost. How many times has a parent or a coach asked a kid if they thought that action was a good idea only to get "I don't know" as a response. I am sure the college administration is well aware of this and knows no matter how hard they try kids will find a way to socialize.

And back to lacrosse. A looking at some of the Ivy schools plans it doesn't appear most of will have a full student body for the spring semester either which might mean no spring sports or a limited schedule. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriot League followed some sort of version of this also. I have read some of the plans for Big 10 and 12 they are talking limited the season to just conference games and limiting travel.

[PicLax]

To me, this is a big question wrt sports happening at all this year: How can sports (Fall or Spring) take place if plans already in place for limiting students by class in both semesters, as it appears schools are starting to do?

[laxpert]

Cornell’s decision to reactivate the campus was influenced by the large number of students who were going to return to Ithaca even with virtual classrooms. Over 50 percent of students live in housing not provided by Cornell. Administration felt a reactivated campus with mandated testing protocols would be the safer than the alternative and will be spending up to five million dollars on testing. According to some estimates Cornell is responsible for 20 percent of the Ithaca economy making many locals happy.

You have to wonder if the Ivy League Fall Semester will be a study within itself. Campuses range from urban to country with a cross section of students that SHOULD be intelligent enough to follow guidelines, testing and provide contact tracing when needed.

[DMac]

To me, this is a big question wrt sports happening at all this year: How can sports (Fall or Spring) take place if plans already in place for limiting students by class in both semesters, as it appears schools are starting to do?

Agree with your thinking, Pic, and I just don't see it happening. You can have 22 people on a football field breathing in each other's faces, another 60 or so on the sidelines but social distancing is the practice for all others? How's that going to work? First time someone tests positive, then what? Pertains to all sports the way I see it. Just don't see how it's going to work. Fans in the stans?

[Farfromgeneva]

I can't wait for the fight in fall 2021 over whether Harvard or Yale gets the home game.

Dmac, if it were Hobart v. Cornell or Cuse it would be, settle down skippy you're coming to us 3 times in a row and you'll like it (in their best Judge Smails voice).

[Sportin' Life]

Dartmouth to eliminate five varsity sports (men's and women's swimming and diving; men’s and women’s golf; and men's lightweight rowing) and reduce the number of recruited athletes by 10% in each class. Steps taken in part to address $150MM pandemic-related budget deficit. https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2020/07 ... cs-program

[bauer4429]

I think DMac hit it on the head... the whole year may be off the table. Maybe now everyone will appreciate last year (full fall ball season and half the spring). This is far from over and it’s affect is far reaching.

[Chousnake]

Ah, I see the Ivy League Forum is populated with true believers.

For those Dr. Fauci fans among you, perhaps you didn't see that he came out today (as he did a month ago) fully in favor of opening our schools in the fall. Of course, he changes his tune daily so who knows what he'll say tomorrow.

Any of the data regarding risk to college students is right on the CDC site, if you care to spend the time looking at it. In any case, I'll just reprint here what I posted in another forum earlier this week concerning colleges opening in the fall:

Approximately 112,000 Americans have died from Covid, 142 of those were age 15-24, and I can only assume that many or all of those young people had pre-existing health issues. During that same time period 51 people age 15-24 died of Influenza. Not to mention car accidents, other accidents, other disease, suicide and on and on. People die, and it's sad, and by discussing the data no one wishes to diminish the value of the lives lost, or the suffering those people endured. But the overall risk to college students from Covid is demonstrably and incontrovertibly tiny.

Moreover, as pointed out, there are workarounds to the risks on college campuses, even in athletics, and every student and professor should have the choice to do whatever they are comfortable doing. If you don't feel comfortable playing lacrosse this season, just don't play. Sit this year out.

It is my belief that the collateral damage to our young people associated with locking them in their homes, preventing them from spending time with friends and participating in athletics, and degrading their college experience is and will be a far, far more serious threat to their well being than Covid.

Your arguments don't hold up for a number of reasons:

1. College campuses are not populated only by college students. The staff, faculty, and neighbors are all mostly in age groups for which Covid-19 poses a much higher risk. Upwards of 30-40% of carriers are asymptomatic, but they can and do pass the virus onto others.

2. You are only considering death, but Covid-19 is shown to cause significant harm to those who catch the virus and recover, significantly damaging organs (lungs, heart, kidneys, brain(per a study that came out today)).We really don't know the long term impact on the virus on those that were infected and recovered.

3. Deaths are at 130,000, but that number has been kept lower through the precautionary measures taken by many people. It would be much higher if we had all ignored the virus and carried on normally.

4.Deaths from Covid-19 are in addition to and not in the place of deaths for other reasons. The number of people who die for other reasons is irrelevant to this issue.

Most colleges are opening this Fall for many valid reasons- financial necessity, the need to avoid the social harms of continued isolation on our young people, the reality that most students will take up residence at their colleges whether classes are in person or remote, better testing and tracing. That doesn't mean colleges should not engage in practices that will reduce exposure, such as minimizing large gatherings where social distancing is not possible and virus load and exposure are great.

[admin]

My thoughts exactly. Cuomo has the blood of thousands of nursing home victims on his hands.

Fellas, lacrosse in the lacrosse forums, politics in the politics forum.

[laxfan1313]

My thoughts exactly. Cuomo has the blood of thousands of nursing home victims on his hands.

Fellas, lacrosse in the lacrosse forums, politics in the politics forum.

Why do you highlight my short sentence & say nothing about the two extremely lengthy diatribes to which I responded with my short sentence?

[admin]

Brevity, not personal. Just wanted to cite one example.

[Matnum PI]

UPenn's Mark Evanchick

Lucas Niang did not allow a single sack in all 13 games he started his junior season at TCU. But back in 2014, the Darien High School defense ran through and around the 6-7, 238-pound highly recruited right tackle, who the Kansas City Chiefs selected in the third round of this spring’s NFL Draft. The Blue Wave tallied six sacks against New Canaan in the first half of the Class L-Large Final.

Mark Evanchick was responsible for four of them.

That game was no outlier. Evanchick’s 66.5 career sacks broke the Connecticut state record, previously held by seven-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion Dwight Freeney.

“He has an incredible combination of speed, strength and leverage that reminds me of JJ Watt,” the Staples High School head football coach told USA Today after Evanchick was named the Gatorade Connecticut Football Player of the Year in 2015. “He is almost impossible to block.”

An equally difficult task is trying to get Evanchick to expound on his individual accolades. While the former University of Pennsylvania defenseman who was selected ninth overall by Major League Lacrosse’s Philadelphia Barrage is proud of the sack record, he prefers to focus on the “here and now.”

“I think we talk about it more than he does,” Penn attackman Adam Goldner said about Evanchick’s accomplishments on the football field. “Whenever we’re watching a game, we always pick his brain and ask him what he’s thinking. He’s definitely our football expert, but he really doesn’t talk about his records.”


“SOME DEFENSEMEN ARE BIG AND STRONG AND OTHERS HAVE GREAT FOOTWORK. MARK IS A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF BOTH.” — ADAM GOLDNER


MLL’s 20th anniversary season will commence tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the Barrage face the reigning-champion Bayhawks at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. A few years ago, it would have been easy to imagine Evanchick stalking quarterbacks on Saturdays in the fall at similar venues. He loves both sports equally and was open to playing either one in college.

Lacrosse’s earlier recruiting timeline influenced his next step.

“I didn’t want to leave any offers from great lacrosse schools on the table just to wait and see what football had to offer,” he said.

Evanchick’s physical style of play he forged on the gridiron screams “Philly” more than “Connecticut prep school” — yet the shutdown defenseman with a stoic demeanor and meticulous attention to detail often defies expectations.

“He’s not your prototypical 6-3 looking defenseman,” said Barrage associate head coach Jamie Hanford, who also coached Evanchick in lacrosse at Darien when he was the first freshman in the program’s history to start on defense.

Looks can be deceiving. Although Evanchick, who’s listed at 5-11 and 210 pounds, set the Penn lacrosse squat record his freshman and sophomore years and earned the nickname “Truck,” he possesses the foot and hand speed of a flyweight.

“Some defensemen are big and strong and others have great footwork,” Goldner said. “Mark is a unique combination of both.”

You also can’t appreciate Evanchick’s impact if you only look at the stat sheet. He registered 37 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in 39 games played, but his primary responsibility is to prevent opposing teams’ top dodging threat from making too much of a dent. That’s a tall task in the Ivy League. Evanchick, a two-time first-team All-Ivy selection, succeeded through equal parts relentlessness and composure.

Teammates and opponents alike praised his poise.

“Even though he comes from a football defensive background, he honestly reminds me of an offensive tackle,” Goldner said. “He’s very patient and sits back to protect the goal the way a left tackle would protect the quarterback in the pocket.”

“I would say he was consistently one of the toughest guys to go against,” said Princeton’s all-time leading scorer Michael Sowers. “He was always well prepared and really strong. He also had deceptively good feet and was patient in times where a lot of people aren’t.”

Sowers added that he thought Evanchick got the best of him in their two previous matchups. Penn claimed seven- and nine-goal wins in those contests. The latter came amidst a 12-game winning streak last season that propelled the Quakers to an Ivy League championship and the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Their run came to an end when they lost to Yale 19-18 in overtime in an NCAA quarterfinal.

This spring, Evanchick and the rest of the senior class had unfinished business. Although they dropped three of their first five games, they also beat Duke and were still ranked No. 19. They were optimistic they could fight through the early setbacks and go on another run like last year. On Wednesday, March 11, they were on Franklin Field finalizing their plans to kick off Ivy League play against Sowers and Princeton when head coach Mike Murphy called the seniors in for a huddle after the 6-0n-6 portion of practice.

Evanchick sensed something was amiss.

He was correct. Murphy told them that the Ivy League had canceled spring sports for the remainder of the season. There were more questions than answers. They had a lifting session scheduled afterwards, but the team decided to scrimmage one last time. It felt more like a pickup basketball game. Most players switched positions. Evanchick, though, barely played. He was too crushed by the news.

“It was a gut punch to hear that everything you had worked for the last four years was over just like that, but there was nothing really we could do about it,” he said.

Many players stayed on the field or posted up on the metal bleachers for hours after the last goal was scored. When the seniors reconvened at their off-campus house, they discussed their hopes to play together again.

But while the class has stayed connected virtually, many will go their separate ways in the fall. Kyle Thornton and Kyle Gallagher will head to South Bend and join the Fighting Irish. Goldner, who set the school’s single-season scoring record in 2019 with 56 goals and was drafted in the eighth round by the Barrage, will add a concentration in the Wharton School of Business and play for the Quakers next spring. Evanchick will enter the real world. Although he explored pursuing a fifth year at Penn, he already had a job lined up as a Loan Syndication Analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in Atlanta. Going back to school would put that position in jeopardy, so Evanchick elected to take the job security given the current uncertain climate.

He started work earlier this week, albeit remotely.

Evanchick already has strong ties with the other organization he joined this week. As Dan Arestia detailed in The Darien Times, three of the Barrage’s 10 picks in this year’s MLL college draft hail from the town of Darien. Five Darien players in total were selected in the draft.

Evanchick played with Amherst alum and 33rd overall pick Colin Minicus from grade school up until college. They’ll reunite in Annapolis. Chris Madalon, the Barrage’s starting goalie in 2019 who was an All-Star selection, coached Evanchick during his freshman year of high school.

“It is important to have people who are used to each other when we are playing in a format like this during these unprecedented times,” said Hanford, who lives in Darien and also coaches Evachick’s younger brother on Eclipse Lacrosse Club. “The staff and the team that gels together the most in two practices and as the games go on will be the one that really sees success.”

Hanford sees Evanchick fitting right in with a unit that features 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Liam Byrnes and 11-year veteran LSM P.T. Ricci. On the other side of the ball, the Barrage, who will play their first season since 2008, boast several members from the Atlanta Blaze’s MLL-leading offense from last season. There’s Shayne Jackson — this year’s NLL MVP — Mark Matthews and Tommy Palasek, who broke the Blaze’s single-season scoring record in 2019 and led the league in assists.

Although Evanchick said he is anxious to get back to 6-on-6 live action that he hasn’t experienced since March, he’s confident the work he put in from ladder drills to wall ball at Darien High School during quarantine has him ready for the rigors of playing at least five games in the upcoming week.

“I’m excited to be part of a team and go out and compete again, especially to be a part of a team as strong as the Barrage have,” he said. “Hopefully I can contribute and help Coach Ford and the rest of the staff bring home some hardware. I think I’ve done the best job I can to prepare myself for what’s to come.”

[pcowlax]

Great stuff, thank you Matnum. He is an incredible athlete and fantastic player. Quite a stat about the Darien draft picks but not surprising, the talent coming out of that small town the past 10 years has been unreal and the 70+ game win streak they had reflected that. Good luck in the real world Mark.

[Typical Lax Dad]

UPenn's Mark Evanchick

Lucas Niang did not allow a single sack in all 13 games he started his junior season at TCU. But back in 2014, the Darien High School defense ran through and around the 6-7, 238-pound highly recruited right tackle, who the Kansas City Chiefs selected in the third round of this spring’s NFL Draft. The Blue Wave tallied six sacks against New Canaan in the first half of the Class L-Large Final.

Mark Evanchick was responsible for four of them.

That game was no outlier. Evanchick’s 66.5 career sacks broke the Connecticut state record, previously held by seven-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion Dwight Freeney.

“He has an incredible combination of speed, strength and leverage that reminds me of JJ Watt,” the Staples High School head football coach told USA Today after Evanchick was named the Gatorade Connecticut Football Player of the Year in 2015. “He is almost impossible to block.”

An equally difficult task is trying to get Evanchick to expound on his individual accolades. While the former University of Pennsylvania defenseman who was selected ninth overall by Major League Lacrosse’s Philadelphia Barrage is proud of the sack record, he prefers to focus on the “here and now.”

“I think we talk about it more than he does,” Penn attackman Adam Goldner said about Evanchick’s accomplishments on the football field. “Whenever we’re watching a game, we always pick his brain and ask him what he’s thinking. He’s definitely our football expert, but he really doesn’t talk about his records.”


“SOME DEFENSEMEN ARE BIG AND STRONG AND OTHERS HAVE GREAT FOOTWORK. MARK IS A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF BOTH.” — ADAM GOLDNER


MLL’s 20th anniversary season will commence tomorrow at 1 p.m. when the Barrage face the reigning-champion Bayhawks at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. A few years ago, it would have been easy to imagine Evanchick stalking quarterbacks on Saturdays in the fall at similar venues. He loves both sports equally and was open to playing either one in college.

Lacrosse’s earlier recruiting timeline influenced his next step.

“I didn’t want to leave any offers from great lacrosse schools on the table just to wait and see what football had to offer,” he said.

Evanchick’s physical style of play he forged on the gridiron screams “Philly” more than “Connecticut prep school” — yet the shutdown defenseman with a stoic demeanor and meticulous attention to detail often defies expectations.

“He’s not your prototypical 6-3 looking defenseman,” said Barrage associate head coach Jamie Hanford, who also coached Evanchick in lacrosse at Darien when he was the first freshman in the program’s history to start on defense.

Looks can be deceiving. Although Evanchick, who’s listed at 5-11 and 210 pounds, set the Penn lacrosse squat record his freshman and sophomore years and earned the nickname “Truck,” he possesses the foot and hand speed of a flyweight.

“Some defensemen are big and strong and others have great footwork,” Goldner said. “Mark is a unique combination of both.”

You also can’t appreciate Evanchick’s impact if you only look at the stat sheet. He registered 37 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers in 39 games played, but his primary responsibility is to prevent opposing teams’ top dodging threat from making too much of a dent. That’s a tall task in the Ivy League. Evanchick, a two-time first-team All-Ivy selection, succeeded through equal parts relentlessness and composure.

Teammates and opponents alike praised his poise.

“Even though he comes from a football defensive background, he honestly reminds me of an offensive tackle,” Goldner said. “He’s very patient and sits back to protect the goal the way a left tackle would protect the quarterback in the pocket.”

“I would say he was consistently one of the toughest guys to go against,” said Princeton’s all-time leading scorer Michael Sowers. “He was always well prepared and really strong. He also had deceptively good feet and was patient in times where a lot of people aren’t.”

Sowers added that he thought Evanchick got the best of him in their two previous matchups. Penn claimed seven- and nine-goal wins in those contests. The latter came amidst a 12-game winning streak last season that propelled the Quakers to an Ivy League championship and the No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Their run came to an end when they lost to Yale 19-18 in overtime in an NCAA quarterfinal.

This spring, Evanchick and the rest of the senior class had unfinished business. Although they dropped three of their first five games, they also beat Duke and were still ranked No. 19. They were optimistic they could fight through the early setbacks and go on another run like last year. On Wednesday, March 11, they were on Franklin Field finalizing their plans to kick off Ivy League play against Sowers and Princeton when head coach Mike Murphy called the seniors in for a huddle after the 6-0n-6 portion of practice.

Evanchick sensed something was amiss.

He was correct. Murphy told them that the Ivy League had canceled spring sports for the remainder of the season. There were more questions than answers. They had a lifting session scheduled afterwards, but the team decided to scrimmage one last time. It felt more like a pickup basketball game. Most players switched positions. Evanchick, though, barely played. He was too crushed by the news.

“It was a gut punch to hear that everything you had worked for the last four years was over just like that, but there was nothing really we could do about it,” he said.

Many players stayed on the field or posted up on the metal bleachers for hours after the last goal was scored. When the seniors reconvened at their off-campus house, they discussed their hopes to play together again.

But while the class has stayed connected virtually, many will go their separate ways in the fall. Kyle Thornton and Kyle Gallagher will head to South Bend and join the Fighting Irish. Goldner, who set the school’s single-season scoring record in 2019 with 56 goals and was drafted in the eighth round by the Barrage, will add a concentration in the Wharton School of Business and play for the Quakers next spring. Evanchick will enter the real world. Although he explored pursuing a fifth year at Penn, he already had a job lined up as a Loan Syndication Analyst with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in Atlanta. Going back to school would put that position in jeopardy, so Evanchick elected to take the job security given the current uncertain climate.

He started work earlier this week, albeit remotely.

Evanchick already has strong ties with the other organization he joined this week. As Dan Arestia detailed in The Darien Times, three of the Barrage’s 10 picks in this year’s MLL college draft hail from the town of Darien. Five Darien players in total were selected in the draft.

Evanchick played with Amherst alum and 33rd overall pick Colin Minicus from grade school up until college. They’ll reunite in Annapolis. Chris Madalon, the Barrage’s starting goalie in 2019 who was an All-Star selection, coached Evanchick during his freshman year of high school.

“It is important to have people who are used to each other when we are playing in a format like this during these unprecedented times,” said Hanford, who lives in Darien and also coaches Evachick’s younger brother on Eclipse Lacrosse Club. “The staff and the team that gels together the most in two practices and as the games go on will be the one that really sees success.”

Hanford sees Evanchick fitting right in with a unit that features 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Liam Byrnes and 11-year veteran LSM P.T. Ricci. On the other side of the ball, the Barrage, who will play their first season since 2008, boast several members from the Atlanta Blaze’s MLL-leading offense from last season. There’s Shayne Jackson — this year’s NLL MVP — Mark Matthews and Tommy Palasek, who broke the Blaze’s single-season scoring record in 2019 and led the league in assists.

Although Evanchick said he is anxious to get back to 6-on-6 live action that he hasn’t experienced since March, he’s confident the work he put in from ladder drills to wall ball at Darien High School during quarantine has him ready for the rigors of playing at least five games in the upcoming week.

“I’m excited to be part of a team and go out and compete again, especially to be a part of a team as strong as the Barrage have,” he said. “Hopefully I can contribute and help Coach Ford and the rest of the staff bring home some hardware. I think I’ve done the best job I can to prepare myself for what’s to come.”

Thanks for posting that. Very nice article.

[faircornell]

I know that it would likely be cost prohibitive, and face many other policy challenges, but it would be really great if the Ivy League could conduct a tournament in the format of the almost concluded PLL tournament.

I wonder if any of the lacrosse mega donors would support such a thing.

[Typical Lax Dad]

I know that it would likely be cost prohibitive, and face many other policy challenges, but it would be really great if the Ivy League could conduct a tournament in the format of the almost concluded PLL tournament.

I wonder if any of the lacrosse mega donors would support such a thing.

I am not sure there is going to be lacrosse next spring. Keeping my fingers crossed but it doesn’t look good.