Chesapeake Bayhawks
|
Team logo | |
| League | MLL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Home stadium | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium |
| Based in | Annapolis, Maryland |
| Colors |
Blue, silver, green, white |
| Head coach | Brian Reese |
| Owner(s) | Brendan Kelly[1] |
| Local media |
Washington Post Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic |
| Steinfeld Cups | 5 (2002, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013) |
| Division Championships | 4 (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) |
| Formerly |
Baltimore Bayhawks 2001–2006 Washington Bayhawks 2007–2009 Chesapeake Bayhawks 2010–present |
| Website | www.thebayhawks.com |
The Chesapeake Bayhawks are a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Annapolis, Maryland. They have played in the MLL since the 2001 season. From the league's inception in 2001 through 2005, they were in the National Division and from 2006 to 2008, they were in the Eastern Conference. After the MLL contraction for the 2009 season from 10 to 6 teams, there is only one conference. The team was based in the Baltimore, Maryland metro area as the Baltimore Bayhawks from 2001–2006. From 2007–2009 they were called the Washington Bayhawks and were renamed the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2010 to encompass the entire Chesapeake Bay area.[1]
Franchise history
The Bayhawks have played two seasons at Homewood Field on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University (2001 and 2003) and played its home games during the 2002 season at Ravens Stadium now called M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore, currently the home of the Baltimore Ravens. They played their home games at Johnny Unitas Stadium on the campus of Towson University from 2004 to 2006. The Bayhawks have won National Division championships in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. They made the 2004 playoffs as a wild card.
The Bayhawks were the only Major League Lacrosse charter team to have a winning season in each of the first five years of the league.
Move to Washington, D.C.
There had been months of rumors about the Bayhawks moving from Baltimore, and a lot of the speculation centered around the team's moving to Washington, D.C. On November 3, 2006, Inside Lacrosse received an email entitled “Major League Lacrosse is coming to Washington D.C.” announcing a pre-season press conference at Nathan’s of Georgetown on November 14. In addition, the domain name washingtonbayhawks.com is registered with a contact name of Kerry Pucillo, Director of Corporate Operations for Major League Lacrosse. The e-mail contact for the domain was her e-mail address and the street address given for the domain registry is that of Major League Lacrosse’s headquarters. The domain was registered September 2006.
The MLL approved the move to Washington.[2] The Bayhawks played their first home game of the 2007 season on May 12 at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Virginia with the subsequent five home games at Georgetown University's Multi-Sport Field. George Mason Stadium served as the primary field for five home games during 2008 with one home game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
The Bayhawks subsequently reached a three-year deal to play all home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium through 2011.[3]
Chesapeake Bayhawks
The Bayhawks are the MLL's second winningest franchise of the league. The franchise has won five MLL Championships and four division titles throughout their history in the league.
In 2001, the Bayhawks won the National Division crown, but fell short in the championship game to the Long Island Lizards. The following year, the Bayhawks repeated as National Division champion, and this time avenged their title game loss with their first MLL crown. In the MLL's third season, the Bayhawks continued their National Division dominance with their third straight title, but again came up just short in the MLL Championship against the Lizards. The Bayhawks made the playoffs in 2004 but were eliminated in the semifinals.
The 2005 Bayhawks squad is regarded as one of the greatest lacrosse teams ever assembled. Led by veterans such as Gary Gait and Tom Marechek, the Bayhawks dominated the MLL and set several scoring records throughout the year. The team capped the season with their fourth National Division title and their second MLL crown.
The 2006 season was a transition year for both the MLL and the Bayhawks. BT Lax Operating purchased the Bayhawks from the prior ownership group led by the Pivec family. The Bayhawks missed the playoffs for the first time in 2006. Following the season in November, the Bayhawks announced the team would be renamed the Washington Bayhawks and play in Washington, DC. The 2007 season found the team at Georgetown for their home games, and in 2008, the team called George Mason in Fairfax, VA their home. In 2009, the Bayhawks returned to Maryland, and signed an agreement with the US Naval Academy for their home games. The agreement lasts through the 2012 MLL season.
In March 2010, the Bayhawks announced the new ownership group: Hometown Lacrosse, LLC led by Bayhawks owner Brendan Kelly. The Bayhawks also announced that the team name would be changed to the Chesapeake Bayhawks to include all areas of the region from Northern Maryland to Virginia and Washington, DC to the Eastern Shore. The Bayhawks continued to play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, MD. With Kelly’s leadership as head coach, the team finished the 2010 MLL season 6-6 and made their first trip to Championship Weekend since 2005. The team defeated the Boston Cannons 13-9 in the semifinals, and won the Steinfeld Trophy for the third time with another 13-9 victory, this time over their archrivals, the Long Island Lizards.
After a rollercoaster season in 2011, the Bayhawks were defeated by the Boston Cannons in a close match-up during the playoffs at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. In the off-season, the team made some major changes when Kelly stepped down as head coach and promoted Dave Cottle from assistant coach to head coach. Immediately after, Cottle brought in Tony Resch to serve as his defensive coordinator. In 2012 they recaptured the Steinfeld Trophy, defeating the Denver Outlaws 16-6 in the final.
The Bayhawks repeated as MLL champions in 2013, defeating the Charlotte Hounds 10-9 in the final.
Rivalry
The Bayhawks main rival is the New York Lizards. Between them they hold eight of the 15 MLL league championships (Chesapeake has five and New York has three) thru the 2015 season.
Current coaching staff
- Head Coach - Brian Reese
- Assistant Coach - Tom Mariano
- Assistant Coach - Dave Huntley
All-time head coaches
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Brian Voelker | 2001 | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 2 | Gary Gait | 2003—2005 | 49 | 34 | 15 | .694 | 7 | 5 | 2 | .714 |
| 3 | Scott Hiller | 2006—2007 | 24 | 9 | 15 | .375 | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | Jarred Testa | 2008 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | John Tucker | 2009-2010 | 21 | 9 | 12 | .429 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Brendan Kelly | 2010-2011 | 15 | 8 | 7 | .533 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .666 |
| 7 | Dave Cottle | 2012-2015 | 56 | 30 | 26 | .536 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 8 | Brian Reese | 2016- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Players
| 2015 Chesapeake Bayhawks | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player's Name | Position | Height | Weight | College | |
| 0 | Jack Rice | A | 5 ft 11 in | 175 lb | Villanova | |
| 1 | Joe Walters | M | 6 ft 0 in | 192 lb | Maryland | |
| 2 | Brendan Mundorf | A | 5 ft 10 in | 195 lb | UMBC | |
| 3 | Matt Abbott | M | 6 ft 2 in | 185 lb | Syracuse | |
| 4 | Dan Burns | M | 6 ft 1 in | 175 lb | Maryland | |
| 6 | Ben Rubeor | A | 5 ft 11 in | 175 lb | Virginia | |
| 7 | Kyle Sweeney | D | 6 ft 2 in | 195 lb | Georgetown | |
| 8 | Tyler Fiorito | G | 6 ft 2 in | 200 lb | Princeton | |
| 9 | C.J. Costabile | D | 6 ft 1 in | 197 lb | Duke | |
| 12 | Kevin Crowley | M | 6 ft 4 in | 200 lb | Stony Brook | |
| 13 | Niko Amato | G | 5 ft 8 in | 185 lb | Maryland | |
| 14 | Drew Westervelt | A | 6 ft 5 in | 205 lb | UMBC | |
| 15 | Kip Turner | G | 5 ft 11 in | 185 lb | Virginia | |
| 18 | Ben Hunt | M | 6 ft 5 in | 215 lb | North Carolina | |
| 19 | Nikko Pontrello | A | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lb | Loyola | |
| 21 | Jeff Reynolds | M | 6 ft 0 in | 195 lb | Maryland | |
| 26 | Colin Dunster | M | 6 ft 1 in | 185 lb | Bryant | |
| 27 | Chris Hipps | D | 6 ft 4 in | 228 lb | Duke | |
| 29 | Mark McNeill | M | 6 ft 4 in | 215 lb | North Carolina | |
| 30 | Matt Donovan | A | 6 ft 0 in | 180 lb | Cornell | |
| 33 | Michael Evans | D | 6 ft 0 in | 220 lb | Johns Hopkins | |
| 36 | Jesse Bernhardt | D | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lb | Maryland | |
| 39 | Matt Mackrides | A | 5 ft 11 in | 180 lb | Penn St. | |
| 40 | Matt Danowski | A | 6 ft 0 in | 200 lb | Duke | |
| 45 | Jason Noble | D | 5 ft 10 in | 165 lb | Cornell | |
| 59 | Patrick Harbeson | M | 5 ft 9 in | 175 lb | Virginia | |
| 60 | Adam Rand | M | 5 ft 11 in | 185 lb | Stony Brook | |
| 88 | Zack Greer | A | 6 ft 1 in | 190 lb | Duke | |
- updated 2013-04-24
MLL award winners
Season-by-season
References
External links
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