2000 Warburg Pincus
Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational


WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys dethrone two time champions, Marin Lacrosse Club in men's finals.		  
Japan East All-Stars hold off Williamstown to become the 1st Annual Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational Champions.

November
4th & 5th, 2000


10th Annual
Men’s Division Team Photos & Summaries

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Men's Championship
Awards Ceremony		 00RLclaudia
Women's Games
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Welcome Reception Hard Rock Cafe
Canoe Races
Saturday Night Sensation/10th Anniversary Gala
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Tourney Apparel		 00ClothingShortsTiki
Tourney Apparel 		00ClothingBlackRedHat
Tourney Apparel
Hawai'i Tournament Clothing IS Available Through Laxstore.com. All Proceeds to Benefit the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club.		 Kapi’olani Park, Oahu, Hawai'i

1st Annual
Women’s Division Team Photos & Summaries

      CELEBRATE, CELEBRATE and Have a GOOD Time ! Add some top notch lacrosse to that, and you've summarized the Year 2000 Warburg Pincus Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational. Yes, the Big name players were back again this year, including Tom Ryan, John Hess, Matt Shearer, Brian Reese, Brian Carcaterra and many other professional players. And yes, there were some big names in the women's division as well: Jen Breakey (former Team USA member), Sue Clark (four-time Team Australia member) and Angela Boundy (Australia U19 - 1999). However, with this year marking the 10th Anniversary of the Hawai'i tournament, on-field & off-field celebration was certainly the Number One priority of all participants and fans in attendance. Thanks to the outstanding support from tournament sponsors, Warburg Pincus Funds, Laxstore.com, SoBe Beverages and Kona Brewing Company, the celebration went off in Grand fashion. In fact, it could not have gone any better.
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Photo: Robin Leworthy
Jay Bloom, Harry Jackson & Jeff Kloetzel proudly accept the Don Gladstone Award
Reception Photos
      The festivities began Friday night at the Hard Rock Café Welcome Reception where the three gentlemen who founded and ran the tournament for its first eight years, Jay Bloom, Harry Jackson and Jeff Kloetzel, were honored with the Don Gladstone Award. In addition, the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club recognized the work of the 15 team coaches who made this year's event a reality: Matt Field (Marin Lacrosse Club), Matt Cone/Harry Mazaheri (WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys), Kim Gray (GB Lax), Bill Campbell (Laxstore.com), Mike Pardi (Barbary Coast LC), Mark Tarone (Hawai'i LC & Ho'ohule), Yasuhiko Hayakawa (Valentia LC, Japan East U20 All-Stars & Japan West U20 All-Stars), Jen Breakey (Hawa'i Women's team), Natalie Speakman (Williamstown LC, Australia), Stephanie Cone (WaLax.com Women's team), Kumiko Tanaka (Japan East U20 All-Stars & Japan West U20 All-Stars). All team captains were adorned with leis (Click here for Photos).

      A balmy day with very light tradewinds greeted everyone Saturday morning. Luckily, SoBe Beverages had a plethora of cold refreshments on hand to help everyone fuel up for the lacrosse action. The men's division had a nice, straightforward format. The 10 teams were broken into two groups of five: Group A (Marin, Valentia, Japan West and Ho'ohule) and Group B (WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys, Hawai'i, Barbary Coast and Japan East). Each team in Group A played the four other teams in that group, likewise for Group B. After completion of the round-robin play, the team with the best record in Group A advanced to the final to meet the team with the best record in Group B. On the women's side, the format was nearly the same as the men's division, except that there were five women's teams as opposed to 10 on the men's side. The five women's teams played as one group (Williamstown Australia, WaLax.com/Tsunami Canada, Japan East, Japan West & Hawai'i). Each team played the other four teams in the division. After completion of the round-robin games, the teams with the top two records advanced to the championship game.

      While the men's games on Saturday featured no upsets, there were some items of note. First off, Valentia Lacrosse Club, the Year 2000 Japanese Club Champions, proved that men's lacrosse in Japan has continued to improve, and more importantly, that Japan is not far behind the level of play in North America. Valentia opened with a 12 - 2 drubbing of inexperienced Ho'ohule. After that, Valentia turned their game against Marin into a barn burner. Marin held on to win 7-5. However, if one of Japan's goals had not been called back for a crease violation and if Brian Carcaterra had not made three huge one on one saves, this game could have had a completely different outcome.
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Photo: Saul Jackson
Harry Jackson scoring one of the 8 goals he tallied over the weekend.
Hawai'i Action Photos
      The other interesting story that arose on the men's side was the strength of the Hawai'i team. In its first two games, Hawai'i outscored its opponents 14 to 1. The defense was anchored by stellar goal play from Ken Wessels but also played strong team defense throughout both games by constantly rotating fresh legs onto the field. On the offensive end, Harry Jackson pumped in a whopping 7 goals (1/2 of the team's scoring total) showing that he still has the magic that earned him All-American honors at Army.

      On the women's side, Williamstown, Australia and Japan East quickly proved that they were the teams to beat by cruising to easy victories in their first two games. Also deserving note on Saturday was the first ever victory by the newly formed Hawai'i women's team. In it's second game ever played, Hawai'i topped Japan West 8-7.


Photo: Andy Sharp
Another Beautiful Day in Hawai'i Nei - Taking it to Da' Water.
More Race Coverage

      While everyone was stoked to get the lax action underway Saturday, the highlight of the day came after the completion of the games. At that time, the teams walked to Kaimana Beach (across the street from Kapi'olani Park) and turned their competitive energies towards the Pacific. Four outrigger canoes awaited the competitors at the beach. Several men's and women's heats were held on an approximately ¾ mile course. That may sound short, but that is not the case at all. Completing the course requires participants to paddle 100% for over five minutes. It's the upper body equivalent of running a mile in under 6 minutes. The lax teams provided the horsepower, and men and women from the Waikiki Beach Boys Canoe Club steered the traditional Hawaiian vessels. Hawai'i took a clean sweep in the men's and women's races. The Hawai'i men's team walked to an easy victory in it's qualifying and championship heats, and the Hawai'i women held up their end of the bargain by winning a nail-bitter in a photo finish. For Photos and More Info on the races click here.

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Photo: Robin Leworthy
WaLax getting charged up for their Canoe Race
More Race Coverage
      After being treated to a fine Hawaiian sunset at Kaimana Beach, the chant changed from "Stroke, Stroke, Stroke" to a gregarious "Bring On the Night". A few hours later, the Saturday Night Sensation Party kicked into gear at Indigo, a stylish Asian venue in China town. Plush Nugget's eight piece funk band helped everyone get their Groove On, and tournament sponsor, Kona Brewing Company, helped everyone get their Drink On. Tasty, two dollar Kona beers flowed all night, and a very good night it was. Yet again, a stellar group of individuals was gathered at the Warburg Pincus Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational, and Indigo proved an excellent venue for the fine collection of participants and fans to join together and rejoice at the 10th Anniversary tournament's reaching its half-way point in style. For Photos Click Here.
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Photo: Saul Jackson
An idealic tournament setting
      As you can imagine, Sunday came bright and early. Fortunately though, not only did the sun return, but also Hawai'i's tradewinds. The moderate trades made for perfect playing conditions: 80 degrees, low/moderate humidity and nourishing sunshine.

      In the men's division, all teams had two round-robin games remaining. Having topped its toughest opponents on Saturday, Marin seemed a lock for representing Group A in the final. Thus, the only question of the final round-robin games was whether the surging Hawai'i team could give the WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys team a run for its money. Both teams entered the game with 3 & 0 records with all victories being by healthy margins. While the local fans were clearly on Hawai'i's side, that seemed to be the only thing to go Hawai'i's way in the game. Hawai'i made some uncharacteristic mistakes in the transition game, and WaLax made them pay for every one. While Hawai'i's defense contined to work as a unit, making 2, 3 and sometimes four person slides, WaLax kept making the extra pass giving themselves a host of lay-up goals. Hawai'i played hard throughout but still walked away with the bitter taste of a very lopsided defeat.
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Photo: Robin Leworthy
WaLax Flying to the Goal as Carc Awaits Another Shot - Men's Final

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Photo: Robin Leworthy
A Firery Crowd Was Onhand for the Men's Finals
Men's Finals Coverage
      With that WaLax victory, the men's championship was set. The game everyone had been waiting for: two-time defending champ Marin versus WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys. With no less than six professional players on their team, WaLax was the slight favorite. However, Marin cetainly had no shortage of weapons itself with four former All-Americans on offense (John Hess, Todd Eichelberger, Lorne Smith & Pete Smith) and another All-American on defense (Brian Carcaterra).

       WaLax's high powered offense opened up right where they left off in their previous game, pumping in seven goals in the first half with the final two coming from tournament MVP, Matt Shearer. At that point Marin trailed by four and still had a shot at three-peating if they could change the momentum in the second half. However, WaLax refused to give in. Their defense stayed strong behind the great play of Pittsburgh Crossfire teammates Brian Reese (defense) and Erik Miller (goalie). In addition, WaLax's offense continued to fire on all cylinders with a major spark coming from a four goal effort by Scott Hochstadt. The result: WaLax controlled the second half just like the first, and captured their first ever Hawai'i Championship 13-7. A big Congratulations to their squad for bringing out a star-studded crew and playing up to their expectations!
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Photo: Robin Leworthy
Hawai'i v. Williamstown - A Very Intense Match-up: Jen Breakey greets Joanne Speakman.
Hawai'i Women's Photos
      In the women's division, Sunday turned into a very interesting afternoon. In a battle of undefeated teams, Williamstown Australia topped Japan East 4-3. That set up an intense game between Williamstown and Hawai'i. If Williamstown were to win, they would advance to the finals to play Japan East. If they lost, Williamstown, Japan East and Hawai'i would each have one loss, as well as equally strong arguments for advancing into the final. With so much on the line, the game quickly became one of the hardest fought matches of both the men's and women's divisions. Amazingly, despite having only practiced together for a few weeks, Hawai'i came away with a thrilling 4-3 victory. The question then became: who would advance to the final?

      With the team captains debating how to choose between the three teams with one loss and the tournament director playing in a game in the men's division, the Hawai'i team showed much Aloha by conceding their bid to be in the final, thus allowing the two visiting teams, Japan East and Williamstown to play in the championship. With the previous game between these teams having been decided by one goal, the championship game seemed guaranteed to be a classic.
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Photo: Jeff Kloetzel
Despite 2 Goals and a great defensive effort by Sue Clark, Williamstown came up one goal short of Japan East in the Championship.
Women's Division Photos
      That's exactly what it was. A see-saw battle was fought as both teams traded off the lead throughout the game. With approximately three minutes remaining, Japan scored to tie the game at 5-5. Both teams made unsuccessful advances in the final minutes until with approximately 20 seconds left in the game, Japan snuck an off-speed shot into the back of the net. With that goal, Japan East avenged their earlier one point loss to Williamstown and took home the championship in the first ever women's division of the Warburg Pincus Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational.

       The awards ceremony was held immediately following the championship games. The Japanese women's teams filled the air with spirited chants, and the four men's and women's finalist teams were presented with stylish Warburg Pincus Funds t-shirts. In addition, the championship teams were given powerful trophies. In honor of WaLax's & Japan East's being the top warriors of the tournament, the Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational presented each team with a traditional Hawaiian battle weapon. Finally, the Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational recognized the following players for their exceptional play throughout the event:

2000 Awards Men's Division Women's Division
Most Valuable Player Matt Shearer (WaLax)
Mami Kameoka (Japan East)
Most Outstanding Attack John Hess (Marin) Mami Kameoka (Japan East)
Most Outstanding Midfielder Tom Ryan (WaLax) Ellie Hammel (Hawai'i)
Most Outstanding Defenseman Brian Reese (WaLax) Sue Clark (Williamstown Aust.)
Most Outstanding Goalie Brian Carcaterra (Marin) Kirsten Thomas (WaLax/Hawai'i)

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Photo: Robin Leworthy
Lei O Mano awarded to Men's Championship Team.		 943-710-12
 Photo: Robin Leworthy
Pahoa Au awarded to the Women's Schampionship Team.
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Photos: Robin Leworthy
Pahoa Keawe awarded to the top men's & women's players at each position.

For More Photos and Information about the awards Click Here

For Game by Game Results Click Here


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Photo: Robin Leworthy
Tom Carr accepts a complimentary Warburg.Com t-shirt for being the Most Outstanding Referee of the event
      The games and awards were pau (finished), but the celebration was far from over. Duke's Canoe Club, located on the beach in Waikiki, once again hosted a nice Aloha Party complete with ono (delicious) island grinds (food) and ice-cold Kona beers. From there it was off to Compadres Bar & Grill for the 10th Anniversary Gala. Compadres, one of

the tournament's original sponsors, has proven time and again that it is the perfect spot for a celebration of this magnitude. Electricity filled the air as members of the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club and tournament participants raised toasts to the many, wonderful moments that have come to pass since the first Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational in 1991. Two dollar Kona Beers and two dollar SKYY vodka drinks provided premium fuel, and music by top, local band, "The Now" ignited that energy with lively rhythm & blues (in the past year, "The Now" has opened up for B.B. King, Robert Cray, and Buddy Guy). Craziness and Smiles abounded throughout the night, a very fitting conclusion to the 10th Anniversary tournament weekend.

      The Year 2000 Warburg Pincus Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational is now in the books, but the many fine memories and friendships associated with the event will live on forever. The tournament exemplified the great times that have come to pass over the first 10 years of the Hawai'i tournament and foreshadowed the many outstanding moments that will undoubtedly bloom from the tournament's next 10 years.

The Don Gladstone Award

  Don Gladstone Award Recipients Championship Teams
1991   Mount Washington of Baltimore, MD
1992 Greg Gebhardt (G) of Upstate N.Y. Upstate N.Y. Lacrosse Club
1993 Peter Smith (A) of Haole III Lacrosse Club Haole III Lacrosse Club of British Columbia
1994 Harry Jackson (A) of Hawai'i Lacrosse Club Hawai'i Lacrosse Club of Honolulu, HI
1995 Howard Alperin (A) of Team California Team California of Los Angeles, CA
1996 Gary Gait (M) of Geezers Lacrosse Geezers Lacrosse of Baltimore, MD
1997 Gary Gait (M) of Team GB Lax Team GB Lax fo Canada/Baltimore
1998 Jake Bergey (M) of Marin Lacrosse Club Marin Lacrosse Club of San Francisco, CA
1999 Casey Powell (A) of Marin Lacrosse Club Marin Lacrosse Club of San Francisco, CA
2000 Founders of The Hawai'i Lacrosse Club
Jay Bloom, Harry Jackson, & Jeff Kloetzel		 WaLax.com/Crease Monkeys of Seattle, WA
Japan East All-Stars of Eastern Japan

      The Don Gladstone Award was established in 1992 in memory of Don Gladstone and between 1992 & 1999, was given to the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. In the inaugural 1991 Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational, Don played defense with the Haole Lacrosse Club from British Columbia, Canada. He was both a stellar field and box lacrosse performer. He played on the Richmond Outlaws Junior A box lacrosse team at age 24 and twice went to the Canadian championships. Don died suddenly in the summer of 1992 and will be sadly missed by all who knew him and by the game of lacrosse.

      This year, the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club established new criteria for choosing the award recipient. In hosting a tournament, one meets a multitude of people who volunteer a tremendous amount of their time to lacrosse. The Don Gladstone Award will be forever presented to an individual or group of individuals who have selflessly given their time to the promotion and enjoyment of lacrosse. The Hawai'i Lacrosse Club is very proud to have the opportunity to honor the contributions of such individuals with this award.

      This year, the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club presented the Don Gladstone Award to the three individuals who founded the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club and the Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational: Jay Bloom, Harry Jackson & Jeff Kloetzel. These gentlemen had the foresight to know what medicine was needed to establish lacrosse in Hawai'i and keep the Hawai'i club & tournament healthy for eight straight years from 1991 through 1998. In addition, these gentlemen continue to volunteer their time to help people all over the world enjoy lacrosse in Hawai'i. On behalf of the thousands of people who have had the joy of playing lacrosse in Hawai'i, Mahalo Nui Loa to Jay Bloom, Harry Jackson and Jeff Kloetzel for all that they have done !!! The Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational proudly honors these gentlemen with the Year 2000 Don Gladstone Award.

M A H A L O    N U I    L O A
(Big Thanks Fo'evah)

To Everyone Who Helped Make
The Year 2000 Warburg Pincus
Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational So Special!!!

Additional Mahalos To:
All Access Productions -- Rocky Dunmire, Event MC
Pacific Taco Exchange -- Christian Schneider
LaxStore.com -- Chris Haug
Kapi'olani Park C&C Personnel -- Joan & Crew
www.hawaiilacrosse.com webmaster/photographer -- Andy Sharp
Trophies -- Dalani Kauihou
Surf & Sea Haleiwa -- Joe & Eric
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts -- Gwen
Waikiki Parkside Hotel -- Fred Izutsu & Audrey Amoy
Event Trainers -- Michelle Landis, Kalani & Jamie
Happy Shirts -- Vik Watumull & Reggie
Riggers Hawaii -- Jon Anderson
Hard Rock Cafe -- Shawna Kalahiki
Indigo -- Paul Chun
Compadres Bar & Grill - Jesse, Miguel & Kelly
TEAM Unlimited -- Dave Nicholas & Price Miller
Hawai'i Youth Lacrosse & Geoff White -- Scorekeepers
Da Sweetest Sales Team - Keli'i, Maile & Leslie
Event Photographer -- Robin Leworthy, Aerial Promotions
OFFICIALS -- Coordinated by Dan Coronel, Jr.
Kona Brewing Co. - Andy Baker

Pretourney Introductory Page
1999 Warburg Pincus Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational
1998 Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational

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