2023 FanLax Forum Poll

[Matnum PI]

Only in your world @MATNUM. Read the entire post.

Read it. #11 Stevens didn't play #16 Babson. https://stevensducks.com/sports/mens-la ... edule/2023 What am I missing?

[SKUD]

The fan lax pole not your pole.

[Matnum PI]

The fan lax pole not your pole.

Forum Poll, not the Computer Poll. Got it...

[Matnum PI]

The *Final* FanLax Forum Polls of the 2023 season are due on Tuesday at noon EST. Enjoy the games. Forum Poll Link (with Submission Links towards the bottom of the page).

[Matnum PI]

The *Final* FanLax Forum Polls of the 2023 season are due on Tuesday at noon EST. Enjoy the games. Forum Poll Link (with Submission Links towards the bottom of the page).

The *Final* FanLax Forum Polls of the 2023 season are due today.

[MrLax2U]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

[Dr. Pretorious]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

Generally, don't disagree with the gist of your post, but let's pump the brakes a little bit when it comes to the Berkman - Thompson comparison.

Currently, Berkman has 13 national titles and over 600 career victories; Thompson has zero national titles and what, 100 career wins? If Berkman retired today, and Thompson took over the reins at Tufts tomorrow, Thompson would have to string together 25 years of 20 victories or more, and win a title every other year for 25 years, just to pull about even with where Berkman is now - assuming Berkman never coaches another game in his life.

I don't think Berkman is losing too much sleep fearing that Thompson is about to overtake his records ...

"Serious jeopardy"? - me thinks not.

[Goldenboy]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

+1

[ClaudeHenrySmoott]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

Generally, don't disagree with the gist of your post, but let's pump the brakes a little bit when it comes to the Berkman - Thompson comparison.

Currently, Berkman has 13 national titles and over 600 career victories; Thompson has zero national titles and what, 100 career wins? If Berkman retired today, and Thompson took over the reins at Tufts tomorrow, Thompson would have to string together 25 years of 20 victories or more, and win a title every other year for 25 years, just to pull about even with where Berkman is now - assuming Berkman never coaches another game in his life.

I don't think Berkman is losing too much sleep fearing that Thompson is about to overtake his records ...

"Serious jeopardy"? - me thinks not.

Agreed Doc.

If Thompson was better, they wouldn’t have gone 0-3 w the Gulls this year. Laughable comparison.

[Dr. Pretorious]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

Generally, don't disagree with the gist of your post, but let's pump the brakes a little bit when it comes to the Berkman - Thompson comparison.

Currently, Berkman has 13 national titles and over 600 career victories; Thompson has zero national titles and what, 100 career wins? If Berkman retired today, and Thompson took over the reins at Tufts tomorrow, Thompson would have to string together 25 years of 20 victories or more, and win a title every other year for 25 years, just to pull about even with where Berkman is now - assuming Berkman never coaches another game in his life.

I don't think Berkman is losing too much sleep fearing that Thompson is about to overtake his records ...

"Serious jeopardy"? - me thinks not.

Agreed Doc.

If Thompson was better, they wouldn’t have gone 0-3 w the Gulls this year. Laughable comparison.

Good point -
I don't know off the top of my head what Thompson's career record is against Berkman head-to-head, but I don't believe CNU has beaten Salisbury more than two times during Thompson's entire tenure there. Whatever the record is, I'm pretty sure it doesn't suggest that Thompson is about to overtake Berkman in the annals of D3 coaching prowess ... lol.

[Matnum PI]

[Laxguy703]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

Generally, don't disagree with the gist of your post, but let's pump the brakes a little bit when it comes to the Berkman - Thompson comparison.

Currently, Berkman has 13 national titles and over 600 career victories; Thompson has zero national titles and what, 100 career wins? If Berkman retired today, and Thompson took over the reins at Tufts tomorrow, Thompson would have to string together 25 years of 20 victories or more, and win a title every other year for 25 years, just to pull about even with where Berkman is now - assuming Berkman never coaches another game in his life.

I don't think Berkman is losing too much sleep fearing that Thompson is about to overtake his records ...

"Serious jeopardy"? - me thinks not.

Agreed Doc.

If Thompson was better, they wouldn’t have gone 0-3 w the Gulls this year. Laughable comparison.

I think what he was getting at was that Thompson is a better coach than D’Annolfo and that if you put him at Tufts(a very easy school to sell and draw top recruits) then he would be a shoe in to win a ton of games. I don’t think he was trying to say Thompson is a better coach.

I will say that in 30 years, Thompson will be regarded as one of the better D3 coaches of all time. Berkman himself has even talked about how good of a coach he is. He is in his early 30’s and still has a ton of time to cement his legacy. If you saw what CNU was before he got there you’d realize how good of a coach he is.

Berkman will always be the G.O.A.T though.

[Dr. Pretorious]

I'm expecting some vigorous dissent so up front I'll admit a southern bias. Several years ago ah23 opened my eyes to more of a northern view but I think coaching and style of play is better in the south. That is why I ranked CNU ahead of Tufts. And I think had they played for the NC - CNU would have won.

Tufts is a great university; belongs in the IVY (as does JHU) I would argue ahead of Princeton for example. Recruiting lax players for Tufts has to be a layup. Switch D'Annolfo for Thompson and Berkman's records would be in serious jeopardy. Thompson is a UVA grad and a class act.

Glad to see Grove City continuing their progress and SMCM getting better. Maybe they should consider rejoining their old CAC rivals in the new conference. One of the NJ schools is going to break out. Given their size, location and history as a teachers college I can't make out why Montclair isn't swinging a larger bat. Stockton maybe?

Good to see Ned's Big Red getting back on track. Next year in Gullandia???

Thanks to all the players, staff, support people, parents, FANLAX posters and fans for an exciting 2023 D 3 men's lax season. Enjoy the summer and stay safe.

Generally, don't disagree with the gist of your post, but let's pump the brakes a little bit when it comes to the Berkman - Thompson comparison.

Currently, Berkman has 13 national titles and over 600 career victories; Thompson has zero national titles and what, 100 career wins? If Berkman retired today, and Thompson took over the reins at Tufts tomorrow, Thompson would have to string together 25 years of 20 victories or more, and win a title every other year for 25 years, just to pull about even with where Berkman is now - assuming Berkman never coaches another game in his life.

I don't think Berkman is losing too much sleep fearing that Thompson is about to overtake his records ...

"Serious jeopardy"? - me thinks not.

Agreed Doc.

If Thompson was better, they wouldn’t have gone 0-3 w the Gulls this year. Laughable comparison.

I think what he was getting at was that Thompson is a better coach than D’Annolfo and that if you put him at Tufts(a very easy school to sell and draw top recruits) then he would be a shoe in to win a ton of games. I don’t think he was trying to say Thompson is a better coach.

I will say that in 30 years, Thompson will be regarded as one of the better D3 coaches of all time. Berkman himself has even talked about how good of a coach he is. He is in his early 30’s and still has a ton of time to cement his legacy. If you saw what CNU was before he got there you’d realize how good of a coach he is.

Berkman will always be the G.O.A.T though.

Understood, and do not disagree. Especially the part about Thompson being a great coach with a great future, and also that he would do a better job at Tufts than the incumbent is doing.

I actually have been following CNU's program before Thompson became the head coach, and again agree that he has done a masterful job of bringing the program to prominence.

I was simply taking exception to what I thought was some significant hyperbole by suggesting that Berkman's records would be in "serious jeopardy". That just struck me as going a little too far.

[Jumbo]

I think it is interesting that a few have omitted SMCM, but also kept middlebury in the top 10.

Some of these teams are going to be much different in 2024, than we saw in 2023. Looking forward to next season already.

[JustOneTime]

St. Mary's best win all year was against Mary Washington. I'm not sure how they should be considered a top 25 team. Yes, they gave Middlebury a good game, but I think they would probably lose 10 out of 10 times if they played again.

[Jumbo]

St. Mary's best win all year was against Mary Washington. I'm not sure how they should be considered a top 25 team. Yes, they gave Middlebury a good game, but I think they would probably lose 10 out of 10 times if they played again.

I disagree 100% on the lose 10 out of 10 times. I don’t think many top 25 teams in the NCAA would beat another top 25 team 10-10 times. But we can disagree.

[Matnum PI]

FanLax Computer's Top 25 - During Regular Season: 3 Best Wins, 3 Worst Losses. During Tourney: Win and you pass whom you beat.
1 Salisbury
2 Christopher Newport
3 Tufts
4 RIT
5 Middlebury
6 Gettysburg
7 York
8 Washington and Lee
9 Lynchburg
10 Denison
11 Dickinson
12 Amherst
13 Bowdoin
14 Union
15 Babson
16 Stevens
17 St. Lawrence
18 Grove City
19 Swarthmore
20 Williams
21 Hampden-Sydney
22 Cabrini
23 Kenyon
24 Muhlenberg
25 Clarkson

[smoova]

St. Mary's best win all year was against Mary Washington. I'm not sure how they should be considered a top 25 team. Yes, they gave Middlebury a good game, but I think they would probably lose 10 out of 10 times if they played again.

I disagree 100% on the lose 10 out of 10 times. I don’t think many top 25 teams in the NCAA would beat another top 25 team 10-10 times. But we can disagree.

Perhaps that's why some folks left SMCM out of the top 25.

[SKUD]

I did not rank SMCM. Did they beat a team that was in NCAA tournament? Who were their marquee wins? Who were their bad losses? Did they lose to team(s) they should not have? Give me an argument on why they should be ranked over an RPI l, St Lawrence, etc.

Thanks

[Jumbo]

St. Mary's best win all year was against Mary Washington. I'm not sure how they should be considered a top 25 team. Yes, they gave Middlebury a good game, but I think they would probably lose 10 out of 10 times if they played again.

I disagree 100% on the lose 10 out of 10 times. I don’t think many top 25 teams in the NCAA would beat another top 25 team 10-10 times. But we can disagree.

Perhaps that's why some folks left SMCM out of the top 25.

Possibly. And I can see that. They were not ranked all year and didn’t have any key wins. My comment was about how SMCM played Middlebury even and held them to 2 goals the 2nd half. Seems like the two teams were pretty evenly matched. And looking at how middlebury played the final few games, I really don’t think middlebury would beat smcm 10 out of 10. But like I said. We will disagree on lots of things. It doesn’t make either of us right or wrong, because we will never know.