Nov. 13, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. – Seniors Eric Simon (Flemington, N.J.), John Souch (Watertown, N.Y.) and Travis Wells (Severna Park, Md.) and junior Steve Clagett (Chesapeake, N.Y.) have been selected as captains for the 2003 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse season.

Simon, a defenseman, became a starter for the Irish in 2002 and has been one of the squad’s most improved players since his freshman season. He earned starts in all nine contests he played and missed four contests because of a broken hand. After seeing action in just three games as a freshman, Simon played in all 16 contests in 2001 during the Irish’s run to the national lacrosse semifinals. As a junior, he scored one goal and collected a personal-best 36 ground balls (the third highest total on the team.

One of the nation’s top long-stick midfielders, Souch has played in all 43 games during his career. He is the only senior on the Irish roster that has seen action in every game during his career. Souch collected 37 ground balls a year ago after being credited with a career-high 52 during the ’01 campaign. One of the team’s top ground ball players, Souch’s 112 rank as the most of any returning Irish player this season.

Wells, a midfielder, played in all 13 contests during his junior season and finished with single-season career bests of 10 goals and five assists (15 points). He has played in 35 games during his career and has not missed a game since his freshman season. Wells heads into his final season with 13 career goals and six assists (19 points).

Clagett is the first junior to serve as an Irish captain since former standouts Alex Cade and Jimmy Keenan were named captains during the 1997 campaign. A midfielder, he has played in 28 of 29 contests in two seasons at Notre Dame. He scored six goals as a sophomore and has seven career goals to his credit.

“Our team will benefit from the strong leadership of our captains and seniors,” Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan says. “Each of these captains has distinguished themselves throughout their hard work and positive attitudes – they are leaders by example first.”