By Becca McGovern
Layout Adviser ’04

Go ahead and order the state champion rings now because this year Lassiter’s Varsity Lacrosse team is unstoppable. Thus far undefeated and ranked number one in Georgia, Lassiter has an excellent shot at playing in the state finals and claiming the title of 2004 state champions. If you were a lacrosse fan last year you might be wondering how the team went from losing twice to last year’s state champs Westminster, to running the clock on them this season with a score of 15-5. Last year the Lacrosse team was good but this year they are taking no prisoners, so when asked about the difference from last season’s performance to this year’s defenseman Mike Collins and attackman Logan Erickson accredited the teams winning season to “a lot of summer camps, the coaching this year, but mainly because the team is so close and most of the guys have been playing together for at least three years.” Founder and booster club president Terry Mayne also attributed this season’s success to “the guys putting the team first rather than their individual goals” and concluded that, “by doing this they win more because it’s a lot harder to beat a team than a group of individuals.” Throughout this season the lacrosse team has demonstrated a strong team effort. They were able to keep the momentum going despite three injuries to attackmen Michael Mayne, Logan Erickson, and Jordan Rutte, along with another incident regarding the loss of team members. Nonetheless they upheld their winning streak and in the midst managed to beat former Tennesse champions McCallie; however, the game was close with a final score of 6-3. Along with the incredible team effort this season many team members also attribute the season’s success to the coaching. New head coach this year Rick Beaulieu and assistant coaches Keith Gravit and Gene Ferraro have kept what Mike Collins called “a tough but fair” environment. Aside from Collins, Goalie Alex Crawford also mentioned the coaches being strict but fun and praises coach Beaulieu saying, “he is awesome because he is easy to relate to and can act like a big kid sometimes.” However excited the Lacrosse program may be about the playoffs beginning and the season coming to an end, unlike last year, at the end of this year the team will be losing many of its senior players. This year’s seniors include defensemen Greg Lentz, Mike Collins, Josh Satterthwait; Mid-fielders Kyle Dickherber, Neil DiVito, Mark Vogelgesang, JD Douthit, and Scott McGuire; Attackmen Logan Erickson, Michael Mayne; and Goalie Erick Hansen.