Hampden-Sydney Grads Star in Lacosse World Championships!

Posted September 30, 2010

Hampden-Sydney alumni, John Pritzlaff ’06 and Alexander Pritzlaff ’08 were recognized for achievements competing for New Zealand in the World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England in late July.  The Pritzlaff brothers were both two-time All-Americans and three-time All-ODAC defenders while playing lacrosse as four-year starters at Hampden-Sydney. They competed for New Zealand perpetuating the legacy of their grandfather, the late Dr. Harold Basil Alexander of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Dr. Alexander, in addition to being a surgeon and scholar, was recognized as one the top national competitors in both rugby and tennis in his native New Zealand and came from a family that has included some of the top national cricket and rugby players in the sports-focused south pacific island.

 

The Pritzlaff brothers proudly wore the New Zealand All-Black jersey. Like the internationally renowned kiwi rugby team, the All-Blacks drew crowds when performing the Haka prior to competition. The Haka is a tradition of the Maori, the New Zealand indigenous native people, put on to intimidate competitors prior to battle.  The Pritzlaffs traveled to New Zealand for selection trials in January which included Maori cultural orientation and Haka rehearsals as a requirement to represent New Zealand in international competition.  Throughout the tournament, both the New Zealand Maori national anthem and English sovereign anthem were sung to represent both of this country’s cultures.

 

John and Alex competed as starting defenders throughout the tournament playing three international scrimmages and seven games while experiencing competition at lacrosse’s highest international level. The New Zealand team had a solid result winning all the scrimmages and with a tournament record of 5-2 posting wins over France, Switzerland, Spain, Latvia and Norway with narrow losses to top ten finalists Scotland and Czech Republic. All games were played at the University of Manchester sports stadiums in Manchester, England. The venue offered opportunity for off-the-field interaction with competitors, fans and international media and spectators as recently documented in Inside Lacrosse magazine. The international teams were jointly housed in the same compound with a large, centrally located hospitality tent to connect with other international competitors before and after games.

 

On the field, John and Alex continued their strong Tiger athletic traditions. John earned team MVP recognition for his leadership and aggressive performance as a Captain and earning surprisingly high-scoring stats for a defender as third highest team scorer.  Alex was honored as Best Defensive Player for his precise control and defensive maneuvers, limiting the shots and holding back some of the top attack men in the world. Together the Pritzlaff brothers led the kiwis to their best international finish in the last four international world cup showings over 16 years.

 

Off the field, ample opportunities existed to learn more about the United Kingdom, and to benefit from interacting with players, coaches and fans from their New Zealand team as well as from the 30 other nations represented in the nearly two week tournament. 

 

As for the future? The week before the Manchester tournament, the international governing organization for lacrosse announced the selection of Denver, Colorado for the 2014 world lacrosse championships. So there is possibility for three Pritzlaff brothers and Hampden-Sydney Tiger lacrosse players to star in that event in their hometown of Denver, Colorado in four years! Look for Andrew ’12, recently honored as an All-ODAC player for his sophomore year lacrosse performance, to join his brothers to earn a spot to control the kiwi defensive end in four years.