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For most Griz fans, it has been entirely too long since UM has won a national championship. It may not be what all the eGrizzers are waiting for, but the Griz did manage to win one this year as the University of Montana lacrosse team defeated St. John's in the MCLA division B national championship.

This article on the game calls the result an upset but you really can't call it that. The Johnnies were in their second consecutive national championship and their record after this one was 0-2. The reason you can't call it an upset is because the Griz were obviously a better team. They won 15-5 and set a record for most goals score in a division b championship game against a team that had not lost all season.

The Griz lacrosse program has been in a rapid ascent since its inception in the late nineties. One of the more interesting notes about this team is that only two players on the roster are from Montana. Three come from the high school I attended in a Seattle suburb, Bainbridge Island High School. It's important to note this high school team won yet another Washington state championship with a win Saturday night over Mercer Island. I don't know the exact number but it's more than ten in the last fifteen years. Congrats to both teams.

Photo courtesy of GrizLax.com.

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After a win today over Westminster College, the University of Montana lacrosse team will play Saturday in the MCLA Division B National Championship Game.

Today's game against Westminster was painfully close as the Griz escaped 19-18 in the semifinal down in Dallas. The Griz went down by a goal in the early stages but they never trailed again after that. They were up by as many as five at various points in the game but going into the fourth quarter it was tied at 15. The Griz never led by more than one in the final period. Down by one, Westminster missed a shot with 19 seconds left and the Griz defense held in the ensuing possession.

Townsend Hall led all scorers with seven goals and Sam Cameron led the assists category with three.

The Griz will play #1 ranked St. John's tomorrow for the championship. Once again, their name is the Johnnies so if we lose I'm going to be a bit disappointed.

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The University of Montana lacrosse team won the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League Division B title for the third time in a row with a win over Western Washington on Sunday. The conference tournament took place this past weekend in Tacoma, WA. Out of all the beautiful cities in the Pacific Northwest, I can hardly believe they decided on Tacoma.

The Griz received a bye in the first round of the tournament. In their semifinal round game they defeated Souther Oregon 13-0. In the championship, which was a much closer 2-1 at halftime, the Griz beat Western Washington 8-6.

With their victory, the Griz receive an automatic bid to the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division B National Championship in Dallas, TX. Seeds are based on rankings and in the last poll the Griz were ranked very well.

Congrats guys.

UPDATE: Here's a recent Missoulian article on the win. The team needs to raise $15,000 for the trip.

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After having a 3-0 record over a weekend of games against ranked opponents — two top 10 teams in the same day — the Griz lacrosse team has jumped from 11th to 5th in the latest MCLA Division B Top 25.

Two schools from Minnesota Preppy Private School Archipelago  — the Tommies and the Johnnies (seriously, those are their team names) — are in the top 3. See you guys in Dallas.

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In my last entry on Griz lacrosse I hoped that there was some kind of postseason for this talented team. Well, after hearing from a couple players, I now know that there is.

Playoffs begin in two weeks in Tacoma (yikes) with the Griz having a bye in the first round. I'm not sure how many rounds there are but if someone wants  to comment below that would be great. If they make it out of Tacoma, they head to MCLIA National Tournament during finals week in Plano, TX. Last year the Griz made it to the semis, but were defeated by San Diego.

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As any baseball fans know, double-headers are tough. It's extremely difficult to go out and win two games in one day. Things are especially difficult when you try to pick up two on the road. Well, the Griz lacrosse team did just that with wins yesterday over #7 Northern Colorado and #11 Montana State.

I don't have many specifics and the only news I have on yesterday's games comes from a blip on Grizlax.com regarding the Northern Colorado game and an anonymous e-mail saying both games went well. The Griz beat Northern Colorado 15-10 and I do not have a score on the MSU game.

This makes the third Griz lacrosse victory in two days as the team also beat #19 Western Oregon on Saturday.

I believe this marks the end of the regular season for the UM lacrosse team. Please do let me know if there is some kind of a postseason.

Update: The score of the Griz-Cat lacrosse game was 17-10, Griz.

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I caught most of today's lacrosse game between the Griz and Western Oregon and it was very entertaining as the the Griz completely trounced the opposition. The final score was 24-3. I believe this was the last home game for the Griz — Will, let me know if I'm wrong — which really blows because this team is very good and I wish I would've seen them play a bit more. Anyhow, they do play tomorrow in Bozeman against the Cats and Northern Colorado. Yeah, a double-header. So, any Griz fans (of any sport) should really try and catch the games.

Also, after the jump is a mildly entertaining video made by the Western Oregon lacrosse team. It's just kind of funny to watch after how bad we beat them. Continue Reading...

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The Montana Grizzlies lacrosse team gets some attention today because a couple guys from Bainbridge just cleaned up in this weekend's games. Take that Mercer!

Bainbridge Island, Wash. natives Sam Cameron and Willy Delius combined for nine goals and four assists in a victory over Southern Oregon on the Whitman Campus Saturday. Cameron also added four goals and three assists in a victory over Albertson College of Idaho in their match on Sunday.

The Griz beat #14 Southern Oregon on Saturday by a score of 18-7 before an even bigger trouncing of Albertson on Sunday. The Griz beat the Albertson Coyotes 26-8.

The Griz are ranked #11 in the latest MCLA Division B Poll, one spot behind Montana State. This poll is dated 4/7/07 so there may be another one coming out today.

Photo by Will Moss

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Class resumed as normal yesterday as students returned from exotic trips to places like Cabo, Cancun, San Diego and Boise. Just about every sport had games/events over break but if you look at the results, they went on a mental trip of their own.

• The men's tennis team went 1-4 over the break as they went 1-2 in at the Red Lion Spring Break Tournament at Boise State. They also lost to Nevada and Sac State in the opening weekend of Spring Break.
• The women's tennis team did manage to end a 6-match losing streak with a win over Lewis and Clark State. No Griz team should ever lose to a team with a school name like that. Well, unless it's in chess or scrabble or maybe slack-lining. They couldn't keep it going though, as the ladies lost to Idaho on Friday. They are now 2-12. Ouch.
  
• The Griz golf team traveled down to Cali for the UC-Davis hosted Anteater Invitational. Anyone know if there was an actual anteater on hand? Or is that their mascost? Had there been an anteater there it would've been the most interesting thing for a Griz fan as our team finished last out of 15 teams.
• Last week, I touted the Griz lacrosse team a bit and told Griz fans to head to Wash-Griz to check out our solid squad in a few matches. There Griz went 0-2 in those matches with losses to Montana State (come on) and Utah Valley State College. Another school we shouldn't lose to due to a name that just makes them sound bad. I know they were #4, but we were ranked higher and we're University of Montana. Named for a whole state... without a 'state' attached.
• The Griz track team, who I also touted before taking my own break, did manage to meet my expectations as they kept their eyes on the prize instead of the wet t-shirt contests they might be missing by staying in Missoula. The runners, throwers and whoever else dominated at the Al Manuel Invitation held here in Missoula. The Griz swept the weekend as both the men and women each won duel meets over Easter Washington and Montana State. Sixteen individuals qualified for the Big Sky Championship — yeah, it's kind of odd you can do that in the first meet of that season — and thirteen won their events.
  

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The University of Montana has dominated Montana State so far this year as the Griz swept the Cats in men's hoops, women's hoops, volleyball and won the Griz-Cat football game. Well, the Griz lacrosse team — damn straight, we have lacrosse team — looks to notch another victory over MSWho.

The University of Montana lacrosse team faces off against the Cats on Saturday as part of a weekend of games in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz also face Utah Valley State College on Friday and Linfield on Sunday.

For tons of information, head to their website at GrizLAX.com. It is run by team photographer and webmaster, Will Moss.

Here are some basics on the team: they are a club team, meaning that they do not have scholarships and do not get much (any?) financial support from the University. I believe they get as much money as other clubs do, but not near what other actual university-sanctioned sports get.

As a club team, they play in the Men's Collegiate Larosse Association's (nationwide association of club college club teams) Division B. Sure, they're stuck in the lower division, but they do what most Griz teams do and stomp through that lower division. The Griz lacrosse team is ranked third in the latest MLCA Division B poll. I really hope end up topping St. Thomas (preppy MN private school), not a big fan of that place.

For anyone who isn't headed to places like Cabo and Cancun, you should definitely go and check out a couple of games.

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