Results | Roster | Statistics
On April 22, 2017, the Statesmen Athletic Association honored the 1988 Hobart lacrosse team by naming it a Team of Distinction. The 27th Team of Distinction was honored at halftime of the Hobart-Mount St. Mary’s lacrosse game on Boswell Field at the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation.
The defending national champions opened the year at the Loyola Tournament. Hobart was edged in its season opener 15-14 by C.W. Post, but rallied for a 16-9 win over Dartmouth the next day. The Statesmen suffered another one goal loss, this time in overtime to Ohio Wesleyan, but Hobart responded with a streak of five straight victories. The Statesmen dominated Alfred 17-2, No. 3 Washington (Md.) 15-9 and Ithaca 27-2 at home. Hobart then went on the road to defeat Cortland 18-8 and St. Lawrence 13-7. The Statesmen were tripped up by Syracuse, but came back home to secure convincing wins over Nazareth 15-9 and Penn State 16-7. Cornell edged Hobart 17-15 in Ithaca, but the Statesmen closed out the regular season with a 15-10 win over Hofstra, a 19-13 victory over RIT and a 23-6 rout of Washington & Lee.
Hobart opened NCAA tournament play, defeating the Golden Flyers for the second time 17-12. Senior Tom Gravante scored seven goals in the win and first-year Bill Miller notched six assists. Both performances tied tournament game records. The Statesmen advanced to the national championship game after cruising to a 19-6 win over Roanoke. Miller dished out seven assists in the victory over the Maroons, setting a new tournament record for assists in a game.
Hobart secured its record-tying ninth straight and 12th overall national title, avenging its regular season overtime loss to top-ranked Ohio Wesleyan with an 18-9 triumph. The Statesmen built up a 17-3 lead at halftime in Delaware, Ohio. Gravante registered a then championship game record seven points on six goals and an assist and was presented with the Brine Award as the game’s most outstanding player. Hobart’s 18 goals were a championship game record. The Statesmen finished the year with a 14-4 overall record.
Gravante, Matt Torggler and Shawn Trell were each named first-team All-Americans. Chip Arvantides, Jim Bardwell and James Symington garnered second team All-America honors. Will Schmidt collected third team All-America accolades and Bill Miller garnered All-America honorable mention. Trell also received the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Memorial Award as the most outstanding goalie in the nation. Gravante led the Statesmen in scoring with 66 goals and 22 assists for 88 points. He logged 17 of those goals in the postseason which stood as a tournament record at the time. Gravante received the Lt. Col. Jack Turnbull Award as the Division III Attackman of the Year and was also named the National Player of the Year. Miller notched a tournament record 17 assists and tied the record for points in a tournament with 23.
In addition to Head Coach
Dave Urick (Class of 1990) and Assistant Coach
Marc Van Arsdale (2001), six members of the 1988 Hobart lacrosse team have been inducted into the Hobart Athletics Hall of Fame:
Bill Miller (1997),
Tom Gravante (2006),
Eric Stein (2014),
Shawn Trell (2003),
Michael DeMaria (2008).
