Recent History (1991-present)
editThe University of North Carolina Men's Lacrosse Team, despite their rich tradition in years past, has struggled to remain amongst the NCAA elite over the past decade and a half. A once dominant and consistent national contender, the team has not won a National Championship since 1991, nor an ACC Championship since 1996. The Tar Heels suffered losing seasons in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2006. Since their last ACC Championship in 1996, the Tar Heels have only produced four First-Team All Americans in the past 13 years; attackman Billy Bitter in 2009, defeneseman Ronnie Staines in 2004, and attackman Jed Prosner in 2004 and 2005. This after having 28 First-Team All Americans from 1980-1996.
Coach Dave Klarmann Era (1991-2000)
editAfter legendary Coach Willie Scroggs retired following the 1990 season the long time assistant coach for the Tar Heels, David Klarmann, took over as the new head coach. In his first 6 years at the helm Klarmann carried on the rich tradition of the Carolina Lacrosse program amassing am impressive record of 73-22. During this time he won five ACC Tournament championships, four ACC regular-season championships, and the national championship in 1991 (16-0). He was also a four-time ACC coach of the year. However, despite his immense success in his first 6 years, the last third of his career saw the Tar Heels go 19-24 and fall out of the Top 10 Nationally for 3 straight years.
| Year | Overall | Conference (ACC) | Coach | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 16-0 | 3-0 | Dave Klarmann | National Champion |
| 1992 | 12-3 | 3-0 | Dave Klarmann | Semifinalist |
| 1993 | 14-2 | 2-1 | Dave Klarmann | National Finalist |
| 1994 | 10-5 | 2-1 | Dave Klarmann | Quarterfinalist |
| 1995 | 9-7 | 1-2 | Dave Klarmann | 1st Round |
| 1996 | 12-5 | 2-1 | Dave Klarmann | Quarterfinalist |
| 1997 | 6-7 | 0-3 | Dave Klarmann | |
| 1998 | 7-8 | 0-3 | Dave Klarmann | 1st Round |
| 1999 | 6-9 | 1-2 | Dave Klarmann | |
| 2000 | 8-6 | 0-3 | Dave Klarmann |
Klarmann retired following the 2000 season and the Tar Heels hired another UNC alum, John Haus, as the next North Carolina Men's Lacrosse head coach.
Coach John Haus Era (2001-2008)
editIt was clear that some rebuilding needed to be done upon his arrival and his first couple of years at the helm displayed this. Haus' first four seasons as the Tar Heels' head mentor showed steady progress in the rebuilding phase of the program as the team finished 6-6 in 2001, 8-5 in 2002, 7-6 in 2003 and 10-5 in 2004 against extremely difficult schedules. But with successful recruiting, an improved attitude within the team and a tremendous work ethic up and down the roster, the Tar Heels broke through in 2004 to be an NCAA Tournament team for the first time since 1998. Carolina also posted its most wins in a season since 1996. The Heels also won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993. Haus gives much of the credit for the success of that team to a nine-member senior class, the first group of freshmen he worked with when he took over the head coaching job in the summer of 2000. Although it seemed Haus had successfully restored the program and was on the path to brining the team back to national prominence, the Tar Heels got stuck in a rut following the 2004 season upon the graduation of the previously mentioned senior class. Over the next 4 years the Tar Heels went 27-30, appearing in the NCAA tournament only twice and failing to advance further than the first round. During this period the team suffered a 17 game losing streak against ACC opponents; a stretch that spanned over from 2004-2008 and did not end until h a win against Maryland on March 21st, 2009 under current Head Coach, Joe Breschi.
| Year | Overall | Conference (ACC) | Coach | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6-6 | 1-2 | John Haus | |
| 2002 | 8-5 | 1-2 | John Haus | |
| 2003 | 7-6 | 2-1 | John Haus | |
| 2004 | 10-5 | 2-1 | John Haus | Quarterfinalist |
| 2005 | 5-8 | 0-3 | John Haus | |
| 2006 | 4-10 | 0-3 | John Haus | |
| 2007 | 10-6 | 0-3 | John Haus | Quarterfinalist |
| 2008 | 8-6 | 0-3 | John Haus | 1st Round |
Coach Joe Breschi Era (2009-present)
editFollowing the 2008 season the University replaced with Coach John Haus with, once again, former Tar Heel alum, Joe Breschi. Breschi was one of the finest lacrosse players in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference while playing for legendary UNC lacrosse coach Willie Scroggs from 1987-90. He was also a member of two U.S. National Teams. After graduating from Carolina in 1990, Breschi coached at his alma mater for two seasons before going to Brown University as the head assistant coach from 1993-97. Breschi was the chief assistant at UNC under Dave Klarmann in 1991 and 1992 and was part of a staff that captured ACC titles in 1991 and 1992 and UNC's fourth NCAA title in 1991. The Tar Heels compiled a stellar 28-3 record during Breschi's assistant coaching stint. However, despite his success as an assistant coach and even more so as a player, Breschi is perhaps best known for the program he built at The Ohio State University. In his 11 seasons in Columbus he helped the Buckeyes become a consistent top 25 caliber team including an outstanding year in 2008 (his final year at Ohio State) which saw the Buckeyes reach the NCAA Quarterfinals. In his first year as the Tar Heels head coach, Breschi was faced with the familiar task of helping rebuild the program. The Tar Heels started off the year 6-0, marking the most successful beginning to a season since 2000. Although the Tar Heels finished the season 12-6, the team made it all the way to the NCAA Quarterfinals and on March 21st, 2009 they won their first ACC game in nearly 5 years. The team's somewhat "Cinderella" run ended in a one-goal loss to arch rival Duke.
Although it was a disappointing end to a promising season, the first step of rebuilding the program was complete. In addition to the team’s success, many Tar Heel players earn great individual honors in the 2009 campaign. Senior midfielder Ben Hunt earned Second-Team All-American honors while fellow line mate, Junior Sean Delaney, was selected as a third team All-American. Sophomore defenseman Ryan Flanagan was also awarded with Third-Team All-America status and was the first Tar Heel defenseman to garner that status since 2007. Senior Shane Walterhoffer, who finished his career as the most prolific face-off man in Tar History, was awarded with Honorable mention status. However perhaps most impressive was the performance by sophomore attackman Billy Bitter. Bitter finished the season with 46 goals, 25 assists, and 61 groundballs. He finished the season with 71 points, third most in Carolina lacrosse history. His 8 goals against the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the first round of the playoffs tied him for the most goals in a game by a Tar Heel over the history of the program. His efforts earned him First-Team All-America status, which made him the first Tar Heel to do so since Jed Prossner in 2005.
| Year | Overall | Conference (ACC) | Coach | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 12-6 | 0-3 | Joe Breschi | Quarterfinalist |
| 2010 (as of 4/6/2010) | 10-0 | 2-0 | Joe Breschi | To Be Determined |
Turnbull Trophy Award Winners (1991-present)
editThe Turnbull Trophy is awarded each year to the teams Most Valuable Player and is, in essence, one of the highest monikers a Carolina Lacrosse player can receive.
| Year | Position(s) | Name(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Attackman and Defenseman | Dennis Goldstein and Graham Harden |
| 1992 | Midfielder and Defenseman | Jim Buczek and Alex Martin |
| 1993 | Midfielder, Defenseman, Attackman | Donnie McNichol, Greg Paradine, John Webster |
| 1994 | Defenseman and Midfielder | Chuck Breschi and Ryan Wade |
| 1995 | Defenseman | Steve Schreiber |
| 1996 | Midfielder and Midfielder | Jason Wade and Jude Collins |
| 1997 | Attackman | Merill Turnbull |
| 1998 | Defenseman | Todd Maher |
| 1999 | Midfielder and Midfielder | Jeremy Carey and Justin Bowman |
| 2000 | Attackman | Jeff Sonke |
| 2001 | Attackman and Defenseman | Jeff Sonke and Bobby Gormsen |
| 2002 | Goalie | Paul Spellman |
| 2003 | Midfielder | Austin Garrison |
| 2004 | Defenseman, Attackman, Midfielder | Ronnie Staines, Jed Prossner, Kevin Frew |
| 2005 | Attackman and Defenseman | Jed Prossner and Stephen McElduff |
| 2006 | Defenseman | Stephen McElduff |
| 2007 | Defenseman, Midfielder, Attackman | Tim Kaiser, Nick Tintle, Bart Wagner |
| 2008 | Midfielder and Goalie | Ben Hunt and Grant Zimmerman |
| 2009 | Attackman | Billy Bitter |
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/unc/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/unc09-mlaxmg
http://www.lax.com/team_stats.phtml?team_id=1034&year=09
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/klarmann_dave00.html
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/unc-m-lacros-mtt.html
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/breschi_joe00.html
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/mtt/haus_john00.html
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/unc/sports/m-lacros/auto_pdf/0910-media-guide.pdf
Resources (generally): Tarheelblue.com University of North Carolina Men’s Lacrosse 2010 Media Guide