UW-Platteville lacrosse will host the Great Lakes Lacrosse League for the first time on April 24-25.

Photograph by Jessica Vretenar

Mike Shea, middie, runs through the Madison defense on Sept. 12. UW-Platteville lacrosse last won the Great Lakes Lacrosse League in spring 2007.

The tournament will see 27 teams, consisting of over 400 players, traveling to Platteville for the weekend to compete in the largest tournament of the year, Brandon Schwenn, middie, said. The tournament showcases club lacrosse teams from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota.

“This is everything to our team,” coach Matthew Mikulecky said. “This means the league respects us and it has brought our team together.”

The process began when Schwenn along with fellow executive board members Brent Beveroth, president, and Eric Miller, treasurer, attended the GLLL fall meeting. They presented a proposal to host the tournament, which was voted upon, and since approval they have begun preparations for the tournament.

The team will seek out sponsorship from the local chamber of commerce for such things as hosting banquet or other items throughout the weekend, Schwenn said.

Different committees have been set up to work on securing hotels and gain support from the Platteville Main Street Program and other clubs, Mikulecky said.

The tournament will physically take place at the Pioneer Stadium, Miners Field, the fields at Memorial Park and either the old baseball fields or high school soccer fields.

“This is the reason we play any games at all,” Nick Bower, middie, said. “It is our chance to really prove who we are as a team.”

Any club teams or organizations that are interested in helping out during the weekend or running concessions should contact Brent Beveroth, beverothb@uwplatt.edu, or Brandon Schwenn, schwennbr@uwplatt.edu.

“Coach Mikulecky and I are the only players left from our championship season in 2007,” Bower said. “Since then my goal for this team has been to win it again. This season, playing for the championship on our own field, is really going to be special.”