Hawaii Tournament
Being that this was my fourth Hawaii
trip, I had no idea it would be the best so far. When I was cajoled into
going my first year with Matt Cone, I was uncertain of the experience having
just moved to Seattle and not really sure about Lacrosse after college.
Fast forward to making my inaugural trip with Barbary Coast, a team of pure
characters from San Francisco and Seattle's own Wisman family. It was
here I was bitten by the bug; the Hawaiian Invitational Lacrosse Tournament
had altered the future, for me, for Seattle, for Lacrosse in the Northwest.
Fast forward to 2003-
Three TEAMS of players left the Northwest having developed the desire to play
in Hawaii from lore and photos. Team Green, Crease Monkeys NW and Stuey
represented both the men's and women's clubs in Seattle, while Victoria
managed to travel well enough to bring a complete team. Previously, we
had fielded a team of 14 guys, now a total of over 35 people from across the
Seattle spectrum made the trip!
Matt Sauri, Team Green captain and teammate from
last year's team said of his experience, "It really doesn't get any better
than this."
Actually it has...
This year's tournament had more than 31 teams
representing Lacrosse from around the world, and saw the inception of the
first ever Master's division.
* 16 Men's Open Division Teams
* 4 Men's Master's Teams (33+)
* 12 Women's Open Division Teams
What will be in store next year?!?
10/31 - HALLOWEEN
Friday started the weekend
games with a masters game pitting the Crease Monkeys masters against the Long
Island Jesters Masters. The Monkeys Masters team finished strong with
the likes of Marc Bissel, Mike Beckmen, Toby Graves, Steve Wisman "Big John"
Van Meirt and Fred Wilmot. We all found it very amusing the oldest
players played the most Lacrosse. That was humorous until Sunday evening
when we retreated to libation for salvation from the "legendary performance"
occurring during tournament play.
Bayou Burnin' A Recipe Fo' Sizzle at Studio 1
Friday night was the scene of
tremendous costumes as a Creole Band shook the place with melodic horns and
funky beats, stirring soul and funk into the likes of "Off the Wall" and their
own popcorn, down-home jive! Unbeatable!! Top of this list were
the Victoria girls all dressed as Mounties. We found them wandering the
streets while we all looked for a mode if transportation while the streets
were completely stopped with Halloween festivities. Of course there were
tons of great costumes and great dancing to personify the mood of the music-
everyone left happy. The band, true to it's name, gave many spirited
partiers a spontaneous REBIRTH!
11/01 - DAY 1
Tournament games started off at 10AM with Crease Monkeys NW playing the Long
Island Jesters. Short on numbers against a team with most of the Bridgeport
Barrage on the roster gave them their first loss. Dan Shanahan
(former NCAA player of the Year and Bridgeport Barrage player) actually ripped
a hole in the net with a shot. Team Green met a similar fate at the
hands of another great team, Barbary Coast. Stuey only lost to the Michelob
girls, though they would see them in the championship game as well. Ian
O'hearn played with the Crease Monkey traveling squad as they drove their way
to the finals on Sunday as well.
With Saturday's games making all teams 1-1 we took comfort in knowing the
party would be just as good no matter what happened. This was only after
we went to the largest ever party of Northwest Lacrosse players in one
restaraunt- Bubba Gump's. Drinking, trivia, seafood and tons of good
company made Bubba's a favorite last year and again this year. We
actually picked up an attackman who was the manager of the joint. What a
great community! Steve Wisman brought the NW Monkeys back in typical
sterling fashion with the game tie goal to enter overtime, then the overtime
goal to make Team Hawaii leave in shame. Team Green dominated a Japanese
U-20 team which wasn't pretty. All in all, not a bad day playing
Lacrosse beneath Diamondhead. On to the Canoe races!!
Twist & Shout at Hard Rock Cafe
Crowded into a 5 gallon container, 10 gallons of people felt the
cramped leg room. Many chose to stick it out and others chose to go.
Another place, another drink and another... and another. Lacrosse IS the
biggest fraternity, and most of the players here know each other from High
School, College or these tournaments. When getting together, everyone
loves the company no matter where the party is.
11/02 Day 2 & Finals
The Monkeys and Green win again and Stuey works into the championships.
The Monkey Masters team earns a spot and repeat game against the Long
Islanders. The Crease Monkeys traveling squad also earned a birth in the
championships. Both finals would see two Crease Monkeys battle with two
Long Island teams; two games, two Crease Monkey champions.
The men's masters game went into double overtime forcing a great shot by
T-Marc to win the game. Riveting action and great play made the master's
game almost as exciting as the elite championships following them. There
the Monkeys spotted the Jesters a 3-goal lead only to finish with an 8-6
victory.
This was a game to watch with more than 20 pro-players playing great Lacrosse.
Game Results:
Special awards went to Gary Spaven as the Master's MVP of
the tournament, and Eric Timmreck as an all-tournament defenseman!!
Tourney Wrap-Up Gala at Compadres Bar & Grill
As usual, the closing party brings a host of fun and excitement allowing
people to hang out and relax before returning to the mainland. Sunday
night is always a great time to think about the next time you will see all
your brethren and still rings, "Stuey" in my ears from the Northwest girls in
attendance. With that, I closed the book on my fourth Tournament on the
beaches of Waikiki with visions of next year in my head already.
PICTURES OF HAWAII INVITATIONAL.
