Hobart announced Monday that its men's lacrosse team will accept an invitation to compete in the Northeast Conference as an associate member beginning next season.
The Statesmen will leave the quickly crumbing Eastern College Athletic Conference lacrosse league to join Northeast Conference members Mount St. Mary's, Bryant, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner.
The move leaves Bellarmine and Air Force as the only ECAC teams without a home past next season. Lacrosse Magazine reported Friday that both the Falcons and the Knights are in talks to join the newly formed Atlantic Sun Conference, which will sponsor lacrosse for the first time in 2014.
Former Navy star Birsner reunites with Meade at Furman
Furman coach Richie Meade announced the hiring of Jon Birsner (Navy) as assistant coach.
Birsner, a native of Levittown, N.Y., has spent the last four seasons as a coach at the Naval Academy Prep School in Newport, R.I. He spent the past two seasons as head coach, where he compiled a 23-6 overall record, including a program-best 15-3 record in 2013.
While playing under Meade at Navy, Birsner was twice named an All-American. He ranks eighth on the school's all-time points list (154), is fourth all-time in assists (105) and was voted team captain his senior season.
Birsner has spent the past seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer, serving in numerous division officer and company commander positions.
Ex-St. Mary's coach boys Burnett hired at Greensboro
Greensboro announced the hiring of former St. Mary's High coach and Baltimore Thunder player Mike Burnett as coach. Burnett will take over for Dan Cetrone, the winningest coach in Pride history, who recently resigned to pursue an opportunity as the managing director in North Carolina with LB3 Lacrosse.
Burnett was a four-time All-American for the Tar Heels, whom he helped capture two Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA Division I national championships in 1981 and 1982. He became the first Tar Heel to earn ACC Most Valuable Player honors in 1981 and was the leading scorer in the NCAA tournament in 1981 and 1982. Burnett is tied for third in program history for points with 190 and second in assists with 106.
After his college career, Burnett played professionally for the Thunder before joining the coaching ranks. He served as an assistant coach at the collegiate level in 1983 under legendary Willie Scroggs at North Carolina, returned to the Tar Heels as an assistant from 2002 to 2005, and was most recently an assistant coach at Catawba.
In addition, Burnett has been instrumental in the growth of lacrosse in the state of North Carolina. He started the first high school program at Chapel Hill High in 2005 and built the middle school program at Forsyth Country Day School.
Burnett is a member of the US Lacrosse Chesapeake Chapter Hall of Fame, the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame, the St. Mary's High School Hall of Fame and the US Lacrosse National Hall of Fame.
Washington College, McDaniel women name coaches
Washington College announced the hiring of Heidi Pearce Yetman as coach, and McDaniel named alumna and Kristin Ramey to lead the Green Terror.
Pearce Yetman, a Chestertown native and former All-American at Johns Hopkins, has spent the prior three years as senior assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Washington College.
"We are thrilled to have Heidi join our team as the head coach of women's lacrosse," athletic director Bryan Matthews said. "Her experience as a player, coach, and administrator, as well as her outstanding work as an assistant coach make her the ideal candidate. We are confident that Heidi will help us take the program to the next level."
During Pearce Yetman's tenure as assistant coach, the Shorewomen went 34-17, reached the Centennial Conference tournament in all three seasons and played in the championship game of the 2012 conference tournament. The 34 victories are the most wins in any three-year stretch in the history of the program, which dates to 1982. The team has won 10 or more games in each of the three seasons, the first time in the history of the team that the squad won 10 or more contests in three straight campaigns. In 2013, the Shorewomen won 13 games, their most since 2003.
As a midfielder at Johns Hopkins, Pearce Yetman was a 2004 first-team All-American, a three-time all-conference selection and a two-time team captain.
During her senior year in 2004, she helped lead the team to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and was awarded the Cathy P. Cramer Award, given for the most outstanding achievement in women's athletics at Johns Hopkins. Pearce Yetman was also nominated for the Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the top women's lacrosse player in the nation.
Pearce Yetman takes over for Julika Blankenship, who accepted the head coaching job at Division II Queens in Charlotte, N.C., last month after guiding the squad for five years.
Ramey, a 2005 graduate of McDaniel, has spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Denison, where she amassed a 28-8 record.
As a player, she was the recipient of McDaniel's Women's Athletic Alumnae Award for the most outstanding senior athlete as a four-year member of the field hockey and women's lacrosse teams. She later served as an assistant coach for both squads.
Schwartzman named MLL Defensive Player of Week
Goalie Jesse Schwartzman (Pikesville, Johns Hopkins) earned his second Warrior Defensive Player of the Week honor after saving a career-best 27 shots in the Denver Outlaws' playoff-clinching 17-11 win over the Charlotte Hounds on Saturday.
His 27 saves tied for second-most in a single game in team history. Schwartzman turned away 27 of 37 shots on goal for a .730 save percentage. The 27 saves are the most that any MLL goalie has recorded this season.
The weekly honor is the 10th in Schwartzman's career (nine Defensive Player of the Week awards and one Rookie of the Week award), which represent the most by any player in Outlaws history. Schwartzman will be appearing in his sixth MLL All-Star Game this year.
"Jesse won the game for us," coach Jim Stagnitta said after Saturday's victory. "He made some phenomenal saves. He certainly shut the door in the second, third and fourth quarter. He was terrific."
Ramey, a 2005 graduate of McDaniel, has spent the past two seasons as the head coach at Denison, where she amassed a 28-8 record.
As a player, she was the recipient of McDaniel’s Women’s Athletic Alumnae Award for the most outstanding senior athlete as a four-year member of the field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams. She later served as an assistant coach for both squads.