DURHAM N.C. – The Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) announced its 2024 Hall of Fame Class, and former Washington and Lee coach, Mike Cerino, and student-athlete, Mike Pressler '82, are among three total inductees.
Cerino, who also made coaching stops at Limestone University and Pfeiffer University, among others, led the Generals for five seasons from 2002-06 and compiled a 53-24 overall record, including a 22-8 mark in ODAC play. During his time in Lexington, Cerino coached the Blue and White to ODAC Tournament championships in 2002 and 2004, with NCAA Tournament appearances in both seasons. The Generals made it to the national semifinals in 2002, with a national quarterfinal appearance in the 2004 campaign.
Individually, Cerino earned the ODAC Coach of the Year award in both the 2002 and 2004 seasons. In addition to his players earning 29 All-ODAC citations in his five seasons, he mentored Ansel Sanders '04 to Player of the Year and ODAC Scholar Athlete of the Year honors in 2004 and Tim Skeen '09 to Rookie of the Year laurels in 2006. Cerino's players also earned a total of 13 USILA All-America citations.
Pressler, a W&L Athletics Hall of Fame inductee in 2001, started each of his first three years on attack, scoring 59 points on 22 goals and 37 assists. As a senior, he moved to defense helping lead the Generals to a 9-4 overall record, their last winning season in Division I. Pressler also played on the football team at W&L, twice being named to the All-ODAC First Team and Kodak All-America First Team in 1981.
In the years following his graduation from W&L, Pressler pursued coaching lacrosse at the collegiate level, serving as an assistant at Army and as the head coach at VMI, Ohio Wesleyan, Duke and Bryant. He was also selected to serve as one of three assistant coaches for the U.S. National Lacrosse team, which won the FIL World Championship gold medal in 2002.
Pressler compiled a 382-205 career collegiate coaching record, winning 153 games at both Bryant (2007-22) and Duke (1991-2006). At Bryant, Pressler guided the Bulldogs to a 25-8 record in his first two seasons as a Division II program, before they made the leap up to Division I, where they went 128-95 for the rest of Pressler's time there. Overall, Pressler led the Bulldogs to seven conference championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances, with Pressler earning the Northeast-10 Conference Co-Coach of the Year award in 2007.
At Duke, the Blue Devils won three ACC Championships and made the NCAA Tournament six times, with a national championship game appearance in 2005, a semifinal finish in 1997 and four additional quarterfinal appearances. Pressler was also named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2001 following an 11-6 season and a conference title. At Ohio Wesleyan, Pressler led the Battling Bishops to a 69-16 record from the 1986-90 seasons, won four conference championships and made it to the Division III national championship game each year from 1987-90.
Ned Harkness (Cornell, Rensselaer Polytechnic) will join Cerino and Pressler in the 2024 IMLCA Hall of Fame Induction class, while Howard Borkan will receive the Bob Russell Contributors Award.
The 2024 IMLCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be a part of the organization's Coaches Summit in Orlando, Fla., on December 13, 2024, at Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate. For information on ticket prices for the Hall of Fame ceremony, as well as hotel rates, click
here.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
