Men's Lacrosse Team Ranked 20th in the Nation, April 8, 2002

For the 2002 season the Colby men's lacrosse program welcomes a new coach with enthusiasm and passion for the game. Rob Quinn begins his first year as head coach. Quinn comes from New England College where he spent the last seven years turning a struggling program into a national tournament participant. At Colby Quinn inherits a 3-9 team that has great senior leadership and depth and experience on defense.

The 2002 season looks promising since many underclassmen showed consistent performances last spring and only four seniors were lost to graduation. With 10 seniors returning the White Mules have a renewed focus and hunger that has the potential to close the gap in NESCAC, the most competitive lacrosse league in the country. The team goal this spring is to qualify for the post-season NESCAC tournament. Quinn said, "During my short time on campus I have come to admire and respect the current members of the team and their desire to work hard and be successful." Quinn believes that establishing a high level of expectations and raising the level of responsibility within the team will enable the team to take greater pride in their performance.

The strength of the 2002 team is in the defensive end of the field. John Shea (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) returns to the goal for his senior year after suffering a season ending injury before last year's Middlebury game. Shea was a second team All-NESCAC selection as a sophomore and is regarded by many as the best goalie in the conference.

Seniors Gabe Duncan-Roitman (Denver, Colo.) and Jack Phillips (Ipswich, Mass.) and junior Ben Winston (Golden, Colo.), all returning starters from last season, will lead the defense. The 2002 White Mules also return with eight of their top 10 scorers. Junior attackmen Barron Butler (Marblehead, Mass.) and Josh Cleaver (Kennet Square, Pa.) were first and third in points in 2001. Seniors Bill Spencer (Sudbury, Mass.), Chris Larsen (New Canaan, Conn.) and Blake Grosch (Warren, N.J.) will be critical to the success of the offense. Sophomores Mike Haimes (Geenwich, Conn.) and Josh German (Wayne, Pa.) gained valuable experience at the midfield last season and will look to contribute. Other returnees that saw considerable time include Nick Owens '04 (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) at long stick midfield and Trenholm Boggs '03 (Arlington, Va.) and Ryan Tyler '04 (Wolfboro, N.H.) both at midfield.

Tradition of Success:

· ECAC Finalists: 1999