2008 Woodie Awards
Eugene Tanner Looking Forward to a Great Season
Yenifer Nunez
Issue date: 4/7/04 Section: Sports
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Prior to joining the Manhattan men's lacrosse team, Eugene Tanner had much success on his high school team. At Patchogue-Medford Tanner was a three year varsity player. He became the school's second all-time leading scorer with a total of 190 points. Tanner was also a two time All-County selection. The junior from Medford, New York, made a great impact on the Jasper team in the 2002. He performed remarkably well in that season and was an important part of the Jaspers. "Eugene is the spark for the team, if he's motivated the team will follow," said head coach Tim 'Mack' McIntee.
Tanner was recognized as an extraordinary player. He received great honors at the end of the 2002 season. In that season, Tanner made First Team All-MAAC and the MAAC Tournament Team. He was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year.
He finished his freshman season ranking first in the MAAC in scoring with 64 points. He averaged 3.07 goals and 4.57 points per game. In addition to being ranked first in the MAAC, Tanner, was also ranked fourth in the nation for points per game and ranked sixth for goals per game.
"Freshman year was perfect for the whole team, we were undefeated and won the MAAC," said Tanner. Prior to winning the Rookie of the Year award, Tanner received the MAAC Rookie of the Week award three consecutive times in the start of the 2002 season. The Jaspers finished the season 9-5 overall and were undefeated in the MAAC with a 7-0 record.
In the 2003 preseason, Tanner received the Honorable Mention Division I Preseason All-American honors. He was also named to the attack squad; he had 51 goals in total and 23 assists totaling 74 points.
The 2002 Jasper team was well put together, however, in the 2003 season; the Jaspers were not as consistent as the previous season. They finished the season with a 4-10 overall record and 3-6 in the MAAC. It was a bad season for each team member especially for Tanner.
"Last season Eugene had a family problem; he struggled a little but did alright with the support of his family and good friends on the team," said McIntee. The Jaspers had a disappointing 2003 season. They lost many important games and did not play a single home game.