📈 THE RISE OF ROMAR DENNIS

Over the past two months, no lacrosse player on the planet has boosted his stock more than Romar Dennis of Atlas LC — and he traveled halfway around the world to prove it.

First, in February, Dennis emerged as THE star of the PLL Championship Series. He won the first ever Golden Stick Award and powered his team to an appearance in the title game.

Then, in March, Dennis was one of 15 PLL players selected to compete in an all-star exhibition game in Japan. He scored a goal in that game, further validating his role as an ambassador for the sport overseas.

Through these recent experiences, Dennis appears to be turning a corner.

TLN told Romar's Lacrosse Story last year, and it's wild to see how much his career has changed since the profile came out. Around the 5-minute mark, he talks about the frustration of feeling like he's not living up to his athletic potential:

"I'm kind of at a crossroads with figuring [my career] out," Dennis told TLN in 2022. "At first it was frustrating that I wasn't what I would consider a top player, given how much time I put into it. Like, how much greater my fitness levels are than most players — athletically, strength and conditioning-wise. ... There's something else, and it's 100 percent mental."

Whatever that mental piece is, Dennis seems to have tapped into it. In just the five Championship Series games alone, the former Loyola Greyhound produced more points (38) than he produced in the past four PLL seasons combined (34). His success in Japan is evidence that his Sixes dominance can, in fact, translate to the field game.

For years, Dennis has been dripping with potential at 6-foot-5 and 230 lbs. He's still only 27 years old, which is when many NFL athletes enter their prime. Heading into the 2023 PLL season, expect a much different version of Romar Dennis to take the field for Atlas.

✨ Friday Night Lights: Duke vs. UVA

Our NCAA Game of the Week is coming one day early this week, as ACC rivals Duke and Virginia will meet at Klockner Stadium for a 5 p.m. ET start on Friday evening.

For Virginia, this is the third straight game against a top-five opponent. The Cavaliers lost in overtime to Maryland on March 18, then rebounded with a decisive win over Notre Dame on the road last weekend. A win over Duke would put them squarely in the driver's seat for a second consecutive ACC title (shared with Notre Dame in 2022).

For Duke, this is a chance to jump into the elite tier. Right now, Virginia, Notre Dame and Maryland are widely considered the three best teams in college lacrosse. The Blue Devils, however, have won seven games in a row and have the most wins overall (9) in Division I.

Regardless of what happens on Friday night, these two teams will have a rematch on Duke's home turf in two weeks.

🧐 Is Jacksonville REALLY Top 10?

One of the biggest mysteries in the polls is the Jacksonville Dolphins. They are 8-1 on the season (with eight straight wins) and have crept into the Top 10 in recent weeks.

But are they really one of the 10 best teams in college lacrosse? Some recent results have us wondering...

Traveling from Florida to Ohio and playing in a bubble in the middle of the week is a somewhat reasonable excuse to only beat Cleveland State by two goals, but how do you explain Jacksonville only beating Mercer, 18-15, at home last Saturday? North Carolina, ranked below Jacksonville in every poll, beat Mercer by a score of 25-3.

Jacksonville upset Duke in early February, but the Dolphins have not played another ranked opponent since and will not face one the rest of the way. If they end up winning the ASUN Championship in May, there's no telling what this team will look like against the big dogs in the NCAA Tournament.

👀 Get Ready For a B1G Weekend

Right now, it's fairly obvious that Maryland is the best team in the Big Ten. After that, it's up for debate.

This weekend will help us determine who No. 2 in the conference is, as Rutgers (7-2) visits Johns Hopkins (8-3) on Saturday afternoon and Ohio State (5-4) visits Penn State (5-3) on Sunday at noon.

Rutgers was the second best team behind Maryland last year, but they just dropped a game against Ohio State last weekend. Hopkins is experiencing a bit of a program revival this season, but so is Penn State. Any of these four teams could emerge as the Terps' biggest in-conference threat by the end of the weekend.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines are 4-4 overall (0-1 in Big Ten) and have to visit College Park on Saturday.

📖 Introducing The TLN Digital Cover

TLN introduced a new monthly installment this week called the Digital Cover, and Notre Dame's Kavanagh Brothers graced the first issue:

Click the image above (or the button below) to read the full story, which includes quotes from older brother Matt Kavanagh, Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan, ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra, lacrosse legend Paul Rabil — and more!

📺 Weekend TV/Streaming Info

All times Eastern (streaming links via Inside Lacrosse/USA Lacrosse Magazine):

Friday, March 31:5 p.m. — Duke at Virginia (ESPNU)7:30 p.m. — Boston U at Navy (CBS Sports Network)9 p.m. — Jacksonville at Utah (Pac-12.com)

Saturday, April 1:11 a.m. — VMI at Canisius (ESPN3)11 a.m. — Hofstra at Monmouth (FloSports)11 a.m. — Robert Morris at Mercer (ESPN+)11 a.m. — Binghamton at UMass Lowell (ESPN3)12 p.m. — Air Force at Cleveland State (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Bucknell at Army (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Dartmouth at Cornell (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Hampton at Delaware (FloSports)12 p.m. — Denver at Georgetown (Georgetown)12 p.m. — Detroit Mercy at Queens (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Drexel at Fairfield (LacrosseTV)12 p.m. — St. Bonaventure at Hobart (Hobart All-Access)12 p.m. — LIU at Sacred Heart (ESPN3)12 p.m. — Marist at Manhattan (Jasper Sports Network)12 p.m. — Marquette at Providence (FloSports)12 p.m. — Quinnipiac at Mount St. Mary's (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Yale at Penn (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Towson at Stony Brook (FloSports)12 p.m. — High Point at UMass (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Harvard at Colgate (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Lafayette at Lehigh (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Michigan at Maryland (ESPNU)1 p.m. — Vermont at Merrimack (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Bryant at NJIT (ESPN3)1 p.m. — Brown at Princeton (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Richmond at St. Joe's (ESPN+)1 p.m. — St. John's at Villanova (FloSports)2 p.m. — Notre Dame at Syracuse (ACCN)2 p.m. — Bellarmine at Lindenwood (ESPN+)3 p.m. — Holy Cross at Loyola (ESPN+)3 p.m. — Rutgers at Johns Hopkins (ESPNU)3 p.m. — Wagner at Siena (ESPN+)3 p.m. — UMBC at Albany (ESPN+)

Sunday, April 2:12 p.m. — Ohio State at Penn State (ESPNU)