May 10, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s lacrosse seniors John Flandina (West Islip, N.Y.), Devin Ryan (Kensington, Md.) and A.J. Wright (Timonium, Md.) and sophomore Dan Berger (Phoenix. Md.) have earned first-team Great Western Lacrosse League honors at their respective positions. The Irish led all six GWLL teams with four first-team selections.
Wright, a senior defenseman, was the only player to repeat as a first-team selection from a year ago. The Irish captain started all 13 games this season and collected 28 ground balls. He played in 45 contests during his career and was a three-year starter. After playing in just two games during his freshman season, he started the final 43 games of his career.
Flandina and Ryan were first-team selections in the midfield. A second-team selection a year ago, Flandina tied for team-high scoring honors in 2002 as he scored 10 goals and dished off a team and personal best 15 assists for 25 points. One of four captains this season, he played in all 57 games during his four-year career and finished with 44 goals and 42 assists (76 points).
Ryan earns all-conference honors for the first time in his career. He also served as one of Irish’s four captains this season. Ryan finished third in the Irish scoring column with 17 goals and five assists (22 points), both of which marked career-bests. A 13-game starter in ’02, he played in 45 games in four seasons with the Irish and scored 39 goals while dishing off eight assists (47 points).
Berger rounds out Notre Dame’s four first-team honorees and was the only Irish attack player to earn all-conference honors. He made starts in all 13 games and along with Flandina topped the Irish scoring column with 25 points. After scoring just one goal during his rookie season a year ago, his 21 goals led Notre Dame in the goal-scoring column during the ’02 campaign. Berger also dished off four assists.
Notre Dame shared the Great Western Lacrosse League regular-season title with Fairfield as both teams finished with 4-1 marks, but the Stags earned the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning the head-to-head matchup between the two schools. Notre Dame ended the season with a final 5-8 record.
2002 Great Western Lacrosse All-League Selections
First Team – Attack
Dan Berger (Sophomore, Notre Dame); Matt Buecker (Junior, Fairfield); Curtis Smith (Junior, Ohio State)
First Team -Midfield
John Flandina (Senior, Notre Dame); Rob Scipioni (Senior, Fairfield); Devin Ryan (Senior, Notre Dame); Ryan Ward (Junior, Butler)
First Team -Long stick Midfield
John Anacker (Junior, Air Force); John DiCamillo (Senior, Ohio State)
First Team -Defense
Greg Bice (Sophomore, Ohio State); Cory Vann (Sophomore, Denver); A.J. Wright (Senior, Notre Dame)
First Team -Goalie
C.J. Kemp (Junior, Fairfield)
Second Team – Attack
Troy Bamann (Sophomore, Fairfield); Anthony Gilardi (Sophomore, Ohio State); Mike Norton (Junior, Ohio State)
Second Team -Midfield
Matt Dudderar (Senior, Air Force); Pat Myers (Junior, Ohio State); Peter Vlahakis (Sophomore, Fairfield); Tom Werney (Sophomore, Fairfield)
Second Team -Defense
Joe Beaudet (Senior, Fairfield); Michael Garrott (Junior, Air Force); Jason Mauro (Junior, Butler)
Second Team -Goalie
Tony Russo (Sophomore, Ohio State)
Newcomer of the Year: Matt Brown (Fairield)
Player of the Year: C.J. Kemp (Fairfield
Coach of the Year: Ted Spencer (Fairfield)