After going 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the Southern Conference, Mercer men's lacrosse is looking to improve over their previous record this spring.
The Bears played scrimmage games against Anderson University on Jan. 15 and Queens University of Charlotte on Jan. 22 to warm up for the season. Though the box scores for those games were not posted, the Bears certainly made use of their opponents to get ready for the season.
Additionally, Mercer had two players placed on the 2022 Preseason All-Southern Conference team. Junior Wesley Chairs and senior Ashton Wood both placed out of 15 players throughout the entire SoCon.
Wood was the lone faceoff specialist on the list, according to MercerBears.com, and had the NCAA's 11th highest percentage of faceoff wins at 62.9% (193 of 307) in 2021. Wood also collected 16 groundballs, adding to his stats and allowing him to lead the SoCon in ground balls and faceoff win percentage.
Chairs made the team as a defender and showed his prowess by forcing 12 turnovers in 12 games during the 2021 season. He also scooped up 23 ground balls to make his way onto the all-conference team.
The SoCon coaches' poll placed Mercer at fourth in the conference out of six teams, receiving 12 first-place votes out of 90 first-place votes. The Bears will look to surpass those expectations. They close out the season with five straight SoCon games after playing 10 out of conference games.
Mercer will play 15 games this season compared to the 12 they played in the 2021 season. COVID-19 still looms over the NCAA and there is no telling how many games could be canceled or postponed. Hopefully, the Bears get to play all their games starting with a matchup against Bellarmine University on Jan. 29.
Keith Holmes Jr. ‘22 is a journalism and creative writing double major who has worked with The Cluster as general staff since his Sophomore year. Keith has received Best in SNO awards for his sports articles along with years of work at Mercer’s ESPN3 branch. Keith spends his free time playing video games and writing fiction around campus.
