Minnesota Announces 2018 Captains

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.–The men’s lacrosse team at the University of Minnesota has announced four players as team captains ahead of this weekend’s scrimmages. Josh Werkmeister, Trenton Woodcock, Clay Diedrich, and Amar Batra will serve as captains for the 2018 season.

“These guys have been working hard on and off the field and continue to exceed expectations,” Limpert said. “Josh and Trent have been an important part of our growth and continued success since they first arrived. Then we have Clay and Amar who have really stood out as leaders in practice and in games.”

A three-time All-Conference and two-time Scholar Athlete, Woodcock will be entering his third year as a captain. The Rosemount native finished last season as Minnesota’s highest scoring midfielder with career highs 20 goals and 11 assists for 31 points which earned him recognition as an All-American midfielder.

Werkmeister will be entering his second year as a captain for the Gophers. The senior from Benilde St. Margaret scored 12 goals and 3 assists last season on Minnesota’s top midfield line. In his career, Werkmeister has appeared in 46 games, tallying 35 goals and 16 assists.

Junior defenseman and Cottage Grove native Clay Diedrich will enter 2018 as one of Minnesota’s top returning defenseman. The former midfielder made the switch to defense mid-season during his freshman year, where he appeared in 7 games. Last season, Diedrich appeared in all 15 games, starting in 7 of them. He tallied 14 groundballs and tied for third on the team in caused turnovers with 13 as a full-time defenseman.

Amar Batra becomes the second sophomore captain named in Coach Limpert’s tenure, following Trenton Woodcock. Batra had a record breaking freshman campaign, setting the new freshman goals (38), assists (39), and points (77) record in Minnesota’s program history. Last season ended with Batra ranking 4th in the nation in points per game averaging 5.133 points per game, and tied for 3rd in the nation in points. Batra was named CCLA Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All-CCLA, and an All-American attackman.

Werkmeister, Woodcock, Diedrich, and Batra will be leading a reloaded Minnesota team. The Gophers welcome a total of 12 newcomers to the team. Making up the 12 new additions are 7 freshmen, 3 transfers, and 2 sophomores.

Evan Anderson, A (So.) – St. Paul, Minn. (Cretin Derham Hall)

Andrew Bianchini, A/M (Fr.) – Bloomington, Minn. (Bloomington–Jefferson HS)

Jacob Carter, LSM (So.) – St. Paul, Minn. (North St. Paul HS / University of Dubuque)

Casey Choido, A (Fr.) – Monticello, Minn. (Monticello HS)

Malik Ekpenyong, M (Jr.) – Bloomington, Minn. (Bloomington–Jefferson HS / Air Force)

Charlie Kidder, A (Fr.) – Western Springs, Ill. (Lyons Township HS)

Tyler MacDowell, D (Fr.) – Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview)

Lucas Martin, LSM (So.) – White Bear Lake, Minn. (White Bear Lake HS)

Aaron Peterson, G (Jr.) – Wayzata, Minn. (Wayzata HS / Minn-Duluth)

Tyler Swenson, M (Fr.) – St. Michael, Minn. (St. Michael–Albertville HS)

Jeff Watkins, D (Fr.) – Elk River, Minn. (Elk River HS)

Peter Wicks, G (Fr.) – Hugo, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy)

The Gophers will take on North Dakota State and St. Thomas this Sunday in a fall ball double header.

Scrimmage Details:

Sunday, October 15, 2018

McMurray Fields (St. Paul, Minn.)

Minnesota vs NDSU – 1:30pm

Minnesota vs St. Thomas – 4:00pm