1/11/00 – The Michigan men’s lacrosse team began practice Monday evening in Oosterbaan Fieldhouse in preparation for what many are expecting to be the Wolverines’ most promising and challenging season ever. With a returning nucleus of experienced seniors and ten first-year players adding depth, the team is confident heading into a schedule that includes six Tournament teams from last year as well as NCLL national champion Penn State.

The team was dealt a pair of unexpected blows recently when head coach John Paul found out that both senior captain Micah Veith (right) (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest HS) and junior midfield/attack Kevin Chan (left) (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset HS) would not be back for the spring campaign. Veith, the Wolverines’ fastest and most physical player, is sitting out the year to focus on academics, while Chan, the team’s third leading scorer last year, has left the team. "Both of these guys will be missed," said Paul, "but we can’t dwell on that. This team is far deeper than last year’s, so I’m confident we’ll be able to overcome the loss of Micah and Kevin."

During the first practice session the Wolverines elected a pair of new captains to replace Veith. Joining returning captains Dan Jerneycic (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Univ. of Detroit HS) and Alex Gregor (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Country Day HS) will be Pierce Davis (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley HS) and Jeff Hadwin (Vestal, NY/Vestal HS). The team practices Monday through Thursday evenings in Oosterbaan throughout the season.

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