During the weekend of January 31 and February 1, the Jesuit lacrosse program hosted its annual Round Robin Invitational. A weekend event for teams to prepare for district games and start off the new year, the tournament proved to be a success yet again.
Hosting teams from near and far, Jesuit welcomed Colleyville, Flower Mound, St. Mark’s, Southlake, Hillcrest, McKinney, Jesuit New Orleans, Hebron, Friendswood, Rockwall, and Highland Park D2 to the twenty-eight acres for two days of great lacrosse action. Every team played a minimum of three games, and teams like Jesuit New Orleans that arrived from out of town played four.
The Rangers faced off against Rockwall, Jesuit New Orleans, and Friendswood, winning all three games. Varsity Head Coach Chris Surran described the game against Jesuit New Orleans as possessing the biggest impact for the team, as the reigning Louisiana state champs played at a high level, providing a tough challenge. However, the Rangers came out on top, winning by a commanding score of 11-5. Coach Surran continued, describing how he thought that throughout the whole tournament his team played “good team lacrosse and improved defensively,” making great plays on both sides of the ball. Going into the tournament, he sought to get as much playing time for the entire team so that everyone could showcase their skills in preparation for the upcoming season.
Additionally, Surran described that he had a wealth of experienced players and youth that performed well as he cited seniors Gavin McClure, Kyle Casillas, and Sterling Coker, as well as freshmen David Sprock, Grayson Hassell, and Jack Tabor, as examples of both upperclassmen and underclassmen who played at high levels. Junior midfielder Sean Rilley echoed Surran’s comments, saying that the tournament “proved how deep our team is and how well we work together. We set the bar high for the season.” Junior attackman and midfielder Garrett Munck also stated that “we played like a team despite the awful weather, but we still have lots of work to do if we want that state championship.”
All in all, the round robin proved to be a great growing experience for this year’s varsity squad. After an undefeated weekend, the Rangers look forward to continuing their success down the road.
