Let's Get The Lacrosse Party Started!

The first event on the schedule is men's lacrosse having what's listed as two scrimmages this weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They'll be squaring off with (surprise) Michigan and Division III Denison. Denison reached the DIII National Quarterfinals last year, while Michigan went 1-13 last year in their first season of Division 1 lacrosse, with the lone win coming against Mercer. The second year Wolverines will provide MU with a good measuring stick of where they are as a program.

The guys to keep an eye on are co-captains defender Matt Melnyk and midfielders Ben Dvorak and Andrew Smistad, along with attackers Tyler Melnyk and Kyle Whitlow and goalie JJ Sagl. Smistad and both Melnyk boys are transfers from Presbyterian, while Dvorak is a transfer from Bellarmine. Regardless of what does happen this season, it is important to remember that there are no seniors on this team, allowing this squad to develop great continuity and chemistry going forward.

You can keep track of all the men's lacrosse action by following them on Twitter as @MarquetteMLax.

How about a video featuring Whitlow, Matt Melnyk, and head coach Joe Amplo, courtesy of GoMarquette.com?

Turning to women's lacrosse, they don't have any exhibition matches officially on the schedule, so we'll have to wait until February 2nd for their action to start up. Coach Meredith Black named tri-captains as well. Senior midfielder Lisa Beltramello and freshman attacker Emily Donovan were both part of Marquette's club lacrosse team before earning a spot through tryouts in 2011. Beltramello served as club president. The third co-captain, freshman defender Jenaye Coleman was part of Marquette's first recruiting class.

Other players to keep an eye on as MU gets rolling are Hayley Baas (Fr./M), Claire Constanza (Fr./A), Elizabeth Goslee (Fr./D), Lauren Hooker (Fr./M), Sarah Priem (Fr./G), and Meredith Abrahamson (Fr./M). Abrahamson was one of 44 players named to the 2012 Under Armour All-America Girls Lacrosse Classic back in June. She was also named a First Team All-American by US Lacrosse, along with Baas and Hooker.

You can follow along with the women's lacrosse action by following them on Twitter as @MarquetteWLax.

Let's go to a practice video with comments from freshman defender Alex Winey, freshman goalie Emma Salter, and Coach Black!

The last item on the docket is the issue of tickets. If you head over to the ticket office at the McGuire Center or pick up the phone and call them up between now and Friday, you can get season tickets covering all seven women's home games AND both men's home games for just $20. If you drag your feet, you're going to have to pay $30. You can check the full slate of home games right here, but keep in mind that the women will be playing three teams with preseason rankings (#7 Loyola (MD), #14 Georgetown and #15 Harvard), while the men will wrap up their inaugural season by playing preseason #6/4 Duke. Yeah, we're not fooling around here.