Mar. 3rd, 2005 - Lacrosse in Wyoming
The Cowboys prepare for the upcoming season while remembering a fallen teammate.
By Jeff Dunham
University of Wyoming School Newspaper
As spring approaches, those in Wyoming are preparing for spring sports. Spring sports such as baseball, soccer, golf and lacrosse.
Lacrosse? That's right, lacrosse.
As their third official season approaches, the University of Wyoming lacrosse team now prepares for a schedule committed to remembrance and compassion. This year the team is dedicating the 2005 season to Ty Zeringue.
Zeringue (a native of Cheyenne) was an attackmen of the UW lacrosse team during the 2004 season, but was tragically killed in a car accident the succeeding summer.
"Ty was a good buddy of mine and when I heard the news this summer about him my heart just sank," said teammate Robby Kerch.
The Cowboys will commemorate Zeringue this season by wearing his initials 'TZ' on their helmets. At Zeringue's funeral, UW head coach Kyle Sullivan put Zeringue's jersey on the casket. Zeringue's mother even donated money to the tsunami relief fund in Ty's name for UW lacrosse.
"We have to realize how lucky we are to play the sport," Kerch said. "Not often are we faced with mortality at our age, especially when it is a teammate. We will keep him in our heads and hearts."
Kerch is UW's top returning player this season after earning Third-Team All-American last year as a defenseman for the Pokes.
Along with the ten players from Wyoming, the Cowboys roster also includes players from Vermont, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Virginia and Massachusetts. The players from the east coast will add better depth to the team as well as much-needed experience.
Having the experience will benefit the Pokes greatly as they compete in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC), which is considered the toughest conference in the nation for club sports. Year after year teams from the RMLC are ranked in the top five in the nation at both the Division A and Division B levels. The Cowboys are currently a member of the RMLC Division II level.
Although the Cowboys are still a young team, Kerch believes that playing in the RMLC is a good thing. "We play some of the best teams in the nation," Kerch said "Playing against them can only make us better."
The Cowboys first game of the season is scheduled for Feb., 26 when the Pokes travel to Orem, Utah to face Utah Valley State. This will be a tough-early task from Wyoming since Utah Valley State is currently ranked 3rd in the nation at the USL-MDIA Div. B level. Other teams in the top twenty-five at the Div. B level that the Cowboys face this year are Ft. Lewis College (ranked 2nd in the nation) from Durango, Colorado and Northern Colorado (23rd).
Perhaps the toughest team the Cowboys will face this year is Colorado. The Cowboys travel down to play the CU Buffs on April 5th. In the preseason Top 25 poll, Colorado was ranked ninth in the nation for USL-MDIA Division A teams.
After two seasons of play, the Cowboys are starting to improve each year. The most improved players have been the ones from Wyoming according to Kerch.
"The biggest improvements have been the guys that have stuck with us since the beginning," Kerch said. "They just want to play."
Although many of the players on the team from Wyoming have never played a lacrosse game before college, Kerch hopes that his love of the game has transferred over to them.
"I play lacrosse because I love it," Kerch said. "I want to share with them the love I have for the game and I hope that when they leave college, that they still play the game because they love it as well."
(Note: Pictures are courtesy of Wyoming Lacrosse.)