April 22, 2003

Maryland senior captain writes his weekly column about this Friday's game vs. UMBC which will be Senior Night a Byrd Stadium. Harper along with 11 other senior Terps and two graduate students will be recognized in a pregame ceremony in a game that will be televised live on CSTV.

By Brett Harper

Wow. It's Senior Night this Friday!

That's kind of shocking. I haven't even had time to think about Senior Night and the fact it's here. I remember looking back to Senior Night last year and seeing all my friends go through Senior Night with their parents and then graduate, it was kind of a surreal thing to witness.

Now, it's my turn. I am looking forward to it, but then again, I'm really not, because it signifies that end of a good thing that has happened to me in my life. I don't want my college career to end just yet, but it has been four great years.

I will enjoy it. My parents will be there for me. My parents have been a big part of my career here at Maryland. They have come to every game from Columbus, Ohio. They have only missed two games during my four years. That has been awesome, the way they have stood behind me and supported me. It will be a nice night for me and my parents to say good bye to Maryland lacrosse in our own little way.

The fact that it will be at Byrd Stadium and on TV makes it that much more special. After playing the Johns Hopkins game (on April 12), it gave me such a great feeling. All of the students were there, the crowd was unreal. Nearly 10,000 fans were there to watch some of the best lacrosse in the nation. The new video board adds some much as well. This is what great lacrosse should be, being played at a great stadium with tons of fans an electricity.

Looking Back On My Career<>

My greatest memories of my four years at Maryland are some of the biggest wins. Hands down, my number one win and memory on the field was when we beat Johns Hopkins at Byrd during my sophomore season, 10-9. Beating Virginia this season on the road, 8-7, at the end of March would rank No. 2. Then a bunch of other wins are grouped together after that.

The wins are so sweet. To celebrate with your friends after working so hard to win a game, that's what makes lacrosse so great.

There might be 12 seniors, but we are really close as a group, really. As freshmen we all lived within a block of each other so we grew up together and figured out who we are over the last four years.

Definitely, Willy Passavia, Jimmy Sbarra, Frank Luciano and Jamie Daue are my closest friends on the team. We all lived together so it was a bond that we will always have and I cherish that.

The senior class as a whole is so tight and close. We hang out together at night, go out and bond.

Three Games Left

Losing to Duke last Friday night in the ACC Tournament really sucked. But coming in and seeing that we are still ranked No. 5, it is comforting that we have received respect. I think people understand that we have a team that has a lot of potential.

We learned a lot last year, when we didn't get into the NCAA Tournament. We know now, that you can not take anything for granted, because the committee, can lock you out of the playoffs as they did last year.

We need to re-focus and re-group and play for May. We need to play for May, let's get out of April and play for May, NCAA Tournament time.