Complete Release | PDF
SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's lacrosse team opens the 2012 season over the weekend with three games at the Full House Face Off. Westminster will begin the year on Friday against No. 17 Sam Houston State before facing No. 10 Western Oregon on Saturday. They conclude the weekend on Sunday against UC Santa Cruz. All three games will be played at the Russell Road Sports Complex in Henderson, Nev.
Griffin Notebook
Westminster is ranked No. 6 in the preseason Nike/Inside Lacrosse Top 25 Coaches' Poll. They return 21 players from the 2011 team that finished 13-8 overall and won the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference championship.
The Griffins return three players that were named an MCLA All-American in 2011.
Jeff Peters was named First Team All-American after he appeared in 21 games and scored two goals.
Marshall Serzen was also a First Team All-American last season. Serzen played in all 21 games and earned AA status as a face off specialist where he won 65.3% of his face offs.
Gian Sexsmith was named Honorable Mention All-American after leading the team with 39 goals and 49 points.
Chris Burckle is expected to step into the cage as the Griffins No. 1 goalie in 2012. Burckle played in 13 games last season with a 54.2% save percentage and an 8.68 goals against average.
Craig Patrick and
Adam Marfice could also see some time in goal for the Griffins this season.
2012 Full House Face Off
The Third Annual Full House Face Off Lacrosse Tournament will be played at Russell Road Sports Complex in Henderson, Nev. over Presidents weekend. This event will include eight Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division II, (MCLA-DII), programs from five different regional Conferences. These teams will play in a total of eleven contests beginning at 4:00 PM, Friday thru 2:30 PM Sunday afternoon.
Westminster is the defending Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference (RMLC) champs and earned the highest preseason ranking in the 2012 FHFO field. The Griffins enter the year ranked No. 6 in the January 24th MCLA Preseason Rankings. The other teams in the field include: UC Santa Crux, Cal State Fullerton, Grand Canyon, Sam Houston State, Utah Valley, Western Oregon and Western Washington.
Dumke Advantage
Westminster has been close to unbeatable when playing at home since the program was started in 2007. The Griffins have an all-time record of 26-6 on Dumke Field and only once lost multiple home games in a single season. They had a 14-game home winning streak over the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Westminster was 3-1 at home last season and they are a perfect 10-0 at home in RMLC games all-time.
Preseason Favorites
Westminster was selected as the top team in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference in a poll of the league's coaches. The Griffins are the defending conference champions and have a 19-2 all-time record in RMLC division games. They are a three-time RMLC champions, including winning the title in 2011.
A Tough Slate
The Griffins will once again challenge themselves this season. Westminster has nine teams on the schedule that are ranked in the current MCLA Top 25 Polls. After facing two teams inside the top 17 this weekend, Westminster will have five games left against teams ranked in the DII Top 25. They will also play Utah (No. 17 DI) and Brigham Young (No. 1 DI) along with NCAA foe Dominican (Calif.) this year.
Griffin Invitational
In late March, Westminster will play host to the Griffin Invitational. The event will be held on March 30-April 1 with two games each day. Westminster will bring No. 2 St. Thomas (Minn.), No. 11 Northern Colorado and No. 12 Concordia (Calif.) to town for the weekend.
Broadcast Slate
Westminster is pleased to announce that all seven home games will be broadcast live on the new Griffins TV. With multiple cameras, Griffins TV will provide one of the best lacrosse broadcasts in all of the MCLA. They will also broadcast every game of the Griffins Invitational on the channel. Griffins TV can be found on the web at www.WestminsterGriffins.com/GriffinsTV.
