Teams: Men's Lacrosse: Team Overview

• Jumbo Lacrosse Camps

• JumbosLaxTV.com - Exclusive Tufts Lacrosse Video Content
• Four named All-Americans
• Jumbos charitable during spring break week
• Jumbos earn second NCAA berth
• Hessler, McNally break season records
• Alumni Questionnaire
• Officials give team sportsmanship award
• Tufts to host East-West Senior Game
• McNally, Yarboro are Scholar All-Americans
• Jumbos trio to play in North/South game
• Seven selected to All-New England teams
• Five Jumbos on All-NESCAC teams
• Team receives second NCAA bid
• McNally's dozen earn NESCAC P.O.T.W.
• Hessler earns share of NESCAC Player of the Week

During the 10-year tenure of Coach Mike Daly, the Tufts University Men's Lacrosse program has firmly established itself as a nationally-ranked squad and as one of the top programs in the competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Last spring, the Jumbos were ranked as high as #5 in the country and were awarded one of the top seeds in the NESCAC tournament.

The program has been in the national top 20 for five straight years, including a #10 finish in 2004. Tufts was ranked as high as #3 in the nation in 2007 and #2 in 2006. The 2007 season also featured the program's first victory against NESCAC foe Middlebury College in 40 years to clinch the conference regular-season title. Tufts' 13-4 finish tied the program's record for wins in a season, originally set by Daly's 2004 team.

Jumbo defenseman Tucker Merrigan was selected a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American last spring. This marked the sixth straight year that Tufts had representation on the USILA teams. Previously, two-time NESCAC Player of the Year Bryan Griffin and 2005 NESCAC Player of the Year Devin Clarke accumulated five All-American honors combined. Merrigan and fellow senior midfielder Connor Ginsberg were elected to play in the prestigious North-South game at Harvard University last year.

A 1995 Tufts graduate, Daly was voted by his peers as the NESCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in 2007. After 10 seasons, he is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories with an 97-59 record for a .622 winning percentage. He was honored as NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2004 and coached the North team at the North-South Classic. He is also the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach of the Tufts Football team.

Members of the NESCAC, the Tufts program plays in the nation's most competitive small college conference academically and athletically. The Jumbos play at a post-season pace week after week against conference competition. Tufts also plays the best non-conference teams in New England, including Endicott and Western New England, and will travel to Pennsylvania to play nationally ranked Haverford College this spring, marking the first meeting between the two teams. Last season the Jumbos the played the second-most difficult schedule in the nation.

The Tufts program is one of the nation's oldest, playing 890 games since the team's beginning in 1930. The 2009 team looks to continue a run that has produced a 67-28 record over the last four seasons. Led by All-NESCAC First Team picks Matt Harrigan in goal and Jordan Yarboro at long-stick middie, Tufts returns plenty of talent. Co-captain Clem McNally, who has scored over 85 goals in his career, is the top returnee on offense along side sophomore D.J. Hessler , the team's leading scorer in 2008.

Tufts recruits on a national level, seeking the finest high school and prep talent available. The foundation of Daly's teams has been built around talented players who also love the game. These lacrosse junkies must also be highly motivated in the classroom. The same drive that propels a student-athlete to academic success enables him to compete at the highest level athletically.

Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished 15th in the 2008 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, the award presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.

Daly, his wife Norah, daughter Fiona and son Liam reside in nearby Reading, Mass. Mike Higgins returns as the team's defensive coordinator. A 1993 graduate of Hobart, he was a two-time All-American, played on three national championship teams and captained the 1993 team. Brett Holm is in his first year as the team's graduate assistant coach this spring. A 2008 Tufts graduate who captained the Football team in 2007 and the Lacrosse team in '07 and '08, Holm was also an All-NESCAC and All-New England choice.

The Jumbos play their home games on the Bello Field turf, which opened in 2004 and was site of the NESCAC Tournament in 2007. Weekday games are regularly played under the lights, and the Jumbos have drawn some of the largest crowds to watch college lacrosse in New England.