The 2006 ACC men’s lacrosse tournament will be without its usual devilish atmosphere. After Duke decided to cancel the rest of its season last week, the ACC announced yesterday that the No. 2-seeded Terps will play No. 3-seed North Carolina in the first round of the tournament. No. 1 Virginia will receive a bye and play the winner in final.
For the first time since the conference tournament began in 1989, there will be only three teams involved. The Terps (6-3, 2-1 ACC) will face the Tar Heels (2-9, 0-3) at M&T Bank Stadium Friday, April 28, at 8 p.m., with the championship game scheduled for Sunday, April 30, at 3:30 p.m.
ACC Assistant Director for Championships Brandi Stuart said it was the best option for every team involved and that there was not a whole lot of opposition from coaches and other members of the committee that made the decision.
“We figured that, having three teams, the most logical solution would be to give the No. 1 seed a bye,” Stuart said.
Terp coach Dave Cottle said there was no better way to hold the tournament.
“I don’t think there was any good answer for anybody,” Cottle said. “It was such a terrible situation, I think all of us [coaches] told [the ACC] whatever they decided, we’ll do.”
Cottle’s main objection was that his team might have to play twice in a span of 48 hours and might be forced to play well-rested and prepared Virginia (11-0, 2-0), who already beat the Terps 15-5 last week.
Cavalier coach Dom Starsia said he understands that his team will have the advantage of extra rest, but that he wished his Cavaliers could get the emotional edge that’s associated with a first-round game after playing doormat Bellarmine to conclude the regular season.
“Truth be told, I wish the conference was at full strength,” Starsia said. “It concerns me a great deal, our competition going into the ACC tournament.”
No other ideas were considered for the tournament, Stuart said.
Cottle brought up the possibility of trimming the two-day tournament to one day, with the Terps just playing Virginia. The logic behind that is North Carolina’s futility. Since the Tar Heels have a losing record, they cannot qualify for the NCAA tournament, even if they beat the Terps and Cavaliers to capture the ACC tournament title.
But just as conference representatives consulted Duke regarding tournament decisions, the ACC has been in communication with M&T Bank, something Cottle said may have contributed to the two-day tournament.
Blue Devil coach Mike Pressler resigned and Duke canceled its season last week after a vile e-mail signed with a player’s jersey number surfaced to go along with serious rape allegations that were made after a March 13 party.
Yesterday, two defense attorneys for Duke players said the long-awaited DNA results cleared members of the team of the allegations. Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said he will not release those results, but by law he must inform the accused.
The ACC will not allow any Duke players to be considered for all-conference teams or awards because of Duke’s in-house decision to stop playing.
“To be consistent with the decisions of Duke’s administration, we also felt it would be appropriate only to have those teams that were members of the tournament and had completed their seasons at the ACC awards banquet,” Stuart said.
In addition to the ACC tournament, Duke’s absence will be felt in the NCAA tournament selection process as well. While there are only three teams in the conference, the selection committee will have one open spot to fill and have to decide how to factor in wins over Duke – something the Terps notched earlier.
Contact reporter Stephen Whyno at whynodbk@gmail.com.
