Tag Archives: Zack Greer

Crotty, Davis Named Tewaaraton Finalists

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Duke seniors Ned Crotty and Carolyn Davis were named as finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, granted to the best men’s and women’s lacrosse players each season.

This is the first nomination for Crotty–who leads the country with 65 points and 45 assists–and it continues a recent stretch of success for the Blue Devils. Duke had two of the five Tewaaraton Award finalists last year in Matt Danowksi, the 2007 recipient, and Zack Greer, who currenty plays at Bryant University and is a finalist for the second consecutive season. Danowski is the school’s only men’s winner to date.

Davis, who leads her team in goals, is also a first-time finalist, and is one of three ACC honorees. Duke’s last finalist was Caroline Cryer in 2007 and the program’s only winner was Katie Chrest in 2005.

Both award recipients will be announced at the 9th annual Tewaaraton Award Banquent May 28.

Crotty and the Blue Devils take on Navy in the first round of the NCAA tournament this Saturday at 7 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium. Davis will lead Duke against Virginia this Sunday at 2 p.m., also at home.

Danowski: Greer Decided Against Duke In The Fall

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Over at Inside Lacrosse, Jon Brand has a Q&A with Duke head coach John Danowski about Zack Greer’s decision to play his fifth year at Bryant, in which Danowski says Greer decided not to use his extra year at Duke last fall and looked at graduate school opportunities throughout the year. Greer considered playing hockey and lacrosse and Danowski says he visited Denver and Ohio State and thought about St. Lawrence, a school closer to his home in Ontario.

“Zack and I had talked in the fall and he had said he was not going to come back to Duke,” Danowski told IL. “The whole thing, in the end, has to be viewed from an academic aspect. This game’s just a means to an end and it’s about looking at how you can position yourself the best way possible…He could have gone straight into the NLL; he didn’t have to play college lacrosse again… Our conversations [in the fall] were about what is going to make you happy, what are you going to get out of a fifth year and we talked about his options.”

Another point of note: Brand asked Danowski about the possibility of adding Bryant, led by former Duke head coach Mike Pressler, to the schedule. His response:

“I don’t think so, not this year. With the lawsuit pending and so many distractions, I don’t think it’s the right timing for the sport. We need to get away from the distractions of the situation right now, but maybe one day, when everything goes away–not that it ever really will–it will could happen.”

–by Ben Cohen

Zack Greer Will Use 5th Year At Bryant With Pressler

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Zack Greer, the NCAA’s all-time leading goal scorer, has decided to use his NCAA-granted fifth year of eligibility with former Duke head coach Mike Pressler at Bryant, sources told Inside Lacrosse’s Quint Kessenich Monday.

Pressler was forced to resign from his Duke position in 2006 in light of rape allegations that later proved false. He became coach at Division-II Bryant in August 2006, and he will lead the Bulldogs as they transition to Division I next season, even though the team will not yet be eligible to participate in the postseason. Adding Greer, Duke’s best attackman and leading scorer, will undoubtedly mark a step in the right direction for Pressler’s program.

Greer graduated from Duke in the spring, but, unlike other members of his senior class with the option of a fifth year, had not announced his intentions for 2009. He could have used his fifth year at Duke, as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer Matt Danowski did last year. Instead, he will be a graduate student at Bryant in Smithfield, R.I., markedly closer to his home in Canada. Greer needs just 68 points to eclipse Danowski as the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer. He amassed 95 points in 2007.

Of course, there are still swirling questions about Greer’s decision to attend a school with no lacrosse history just to play for his old coach. If anything, it is perhaps the greatest athletics-related development in the lacrosse case in a long time. It will likely catapult the story back in the spotlight and place Greer and Pressler under a magnifying glass, at least for Bryant’s first game next year.

We’ll have more reaction, analysis and try to get quotes from Greer as this story develops.

What do you think about Greer’s decision to use his fifth year with Pressler at Bryant?

–by Ben Cohen

Ross, Mayer Staying; Greer Still Undecided

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Inside Lacrosse talked with Duke head coach John Danowski last week, and he told the lacrosse website that midfielder Brad Ross and defenseman Kevin Mayer will use their NCAA-granted fifth years of eligibility at Duke, while attackman Josh Covalevski will use his at Delaware and midfielder Bo Carrington will forego his extra year. Attackman Zack Greer, the most important player with the option of returning, is still undecided, Danowski said.

Ross played a critical role in Duke’s Final Four run this year, starting every game and finishing fourth on the team with 25 goals, trailing only Greer, Max Quinzani and Matt Danowski. His 33 points were fifth-most on the team. Mayer played in 12 games and Covalevski saw time in 14, posting seven points. Carrington scored five goals in 11 games, but suffered from a career-ending herniated disk that will keep him out of action next year.

Greer, a Tewaraaton Trophy finalist, did not declare for the MLL Draft and has either the option of returning for another year in Durham or attending graduate school at another institution. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and the top goal scorer in the country this year would obviously affect Duke’s quest for its first national title next season.

“Zack’s a very private person,” Danowski told IL. “I think that we all assume because he hasn’t used his eligibility that he’s coming back. I assume he’s going to play somewhere but I don’t know where.”

We’ll continue to report this story from our end and let you know when we hear more about Greer.

—by Ben Cohen

Inside Lacrosse Ranks Duke 6th In 2009

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Doesn’t it seem like the men’s lacrosse just ended last week? Inside Lacrosse, the mecca for college lacrosse online coverage, just released its first poll…for next season. What’s even more surprising, though, is that Duke is ranked No. 6. ACC foes Virginia and Maryland occupy the top two spots.

The Blue Devils held the No. 1 slot for most of this season and garnered the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament before losing to No. 5 Johns Hopkins in the Final Four. They lose the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in Matt Danowski, in addition to goalie Dan Loftus and defensemen Nick O’Hara and Tony McDevitt, but will still have plenty of talent, especially if Zack Greer and Brad Ross use their extra years of eligibility at Duke (more on that later).

Where do you think Duke should be ranked?

–by Ben Cohen

Danowski, Greer Denied Tewaraaton Trophy

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Duke seniors Matt Danowski and Zack Greer were two of the five finalists for the Tewaraaton Trophy, college lacrosse’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Danowski, the 2007 winner, is the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, and Greer is the NCAA’s all-time leading goal scorer. Neither of them won.

Instead, Syracuse’s Mike Leveille took home the award.

Leveille led the national champions with 49 goals and 34 assists on the season, finishing with 83 points. Danowski posted 38 goals and 53 assists (91 points) and Greer had an NCAA-high 58 goals and 22 assists (80 points). As The Daily Orange writes,

“Certainly Leveille’s torrid performance in the NCAA tournament might have had something to do with him earning the award.”

Leveille was picked third overall in the MLL Draft Wednesday, one slot behind Danowski.

–by Ben Cohen