Clan Destined: Lowe Completes HOF Legacy
by Bill Tanton | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
Are the Lowes the first family of lacrosse?
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| From right, National Lacrosse Hall of Famers Alan, Darren and Kevin Lowe, at Darren's 2007 induction. |
No one in the family claims that, not even the patriarch, Alan
Lowe.
But if that distinction is determined by the number of family
members in the National Hall of Fame, the Lowes have it.
While several families have more than one HOFer (see sidebar), as
of the Nov. 7 National Hall of Fame Induction Celebration,
presented by Bollinger, the Hall will have three Lowes — dad
Alan, who entered in 1990, son Darren (2007) and this year
— ta da! — son Kevin. This was Kevin’s first year
of eligibility.
“Kevin is my hero and he’s my little brother,”
says Darren, a former Brown All-American and USILA Player of the
Year in 1992, and now a 39-year old, newly married Wall Street
broker with the Royal Bank of Canada. “Wherever Kevin played,
he won — high school, college, NLL, MLL,
international.”
Kevin Lowe’s resume is as resplendent as any. He was a high
school All-American at Mineola (N.Y.) and Turnbull Award winner and
three-time All-American at Princeton from 1992-94. He led Princeton
to NCAA championships in ‘92 and ‘94. From 1995 through
2003 he played pro.
In 2002 Kevin and Darren were teammates on the U.S. team that won
the world championship in Australia.
“Kevin was a player who could do whatever needed to be
done,” says Darren, who captained that ‘02 U.S. team.
“If the team needed a big goal, he got it. If they needed an
assist, he did that. If they needed somebody to hold the ball the
last two minutes, he could do that. That’s why he’s my
idol even though he’s 20 months younger than I am.”
Of course it all starts with the dad, who made the National Hall
of Fame as an outstanding player and coach. He was an All-America
attackman at Maryland on the Terps’ national championship
team in 1967. He was on the U.S. national team that won the world
championship in 1974.
Alan spent his working life coaching high school teams on Long
Island, 30 years of that at Manhasset. Now he’s retired and
living in Florida.
All three Lowes took to lacrosse instinctively and showed a
natural aptitude for it. The boys had lacrosse sticks at age 6 and
could already play lefty or righty, the father says. He says both
are natural right-handers but were so comfortable playing
left-handed that opponents thought they were lefties. When an
opponent overplayed their left, they took full advantage of it.
“I was a baseball player myself until 10th grade at
Hempstead,” Alan Lowe says. “When I switched to
lacrosse — I just liked it better — my mother was
furious. She was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan. She thought I was
going to be the next Pee Wee Reese.”
Alan says their house, with sports equipment everywhere,
“was like a gymnasium” when his sons were growing up.
There was a small plot of ground that never grew any grass because
the boys played so much there. In high school, Kevin, now a Wall
Street broker with three children, was a multi-sport star.
“Kevin played soccer for a while, but he switched to
football and played quarterback,” says his dad. “Both
boys played lacrosse at Mineola for a great coach, Bob Young.
“In football, Kevin once completed 24 passes in a game. In
basketball, he was a good point guard. In lacrosse he played
attack. When you think about it, playing quarterback and point
guard are very similar to running the offense in
lacrosse.”
Alan says he let his sons choose their own sport, as well as their
own colleges. Both went to Ivy League universities, in part because
their father explained to them, “Those great colleges like to
win on Saturday.”
“Our family owes everything to lacrosse,” says
Alan.
Did lacrosse have anything to do with going to Brown and
Princeton?
“It had everything to do with it,” says Darren.
“To get in those schools you need to be a good student and
you need something else. Lacrosse was our something else.”
National Hall of Fame: Class of 2009
The 2009 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame induction celebration, a US Lacrosse event sponsored by Bollinger, will see Todd Curry, Jeffrey J. Long, Kevin Lowe, Mark Millon, Cherie Greer Brown, Patricia Price Genovese, Jennifer Miller O’Donnell and Jessica Wilk Strosberg enshrined Saturday among lacrosse's immortals.
Click here for event information.
More on the inductees:
Cherie Greer Brown
Cherie Greer (Virginia ’94) will be inducted as a truly
great player. Greer, an All-American, was also the NCAA Division I
Defensive Player of the Year (1994) and had her jersey retired at
Virginia. During her career, the Cavaliers won two NCAA
championships (1991, 1993). Greer was a 14-year club player and
received the Beth Allen award at the US Lacrosse Women’s
Division National Tournament (2000). She was a member of the 1993,
1997, 2001 and 2005 U.S. Women’s World Cup teams, winning
three world championships. She was named the most outstanding
player of the championship game in the 1997 and 2001 World Cups. In
2000, she was named a member of the Lacrosse Magazine All-Century
Team. Greer was inducted into the US Lacrosse Philadelphia/Eastern
Pennsylvania Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2005).
Jeffrey Long
Jeffrey Long (Naval Academy ‘77) will be inducted as a truly
great player. Long played high school lacrosse at Irondequoit
(Rochester, N.Y.) where he was a two-time All-American and
four-time All-League selectee. At the Naval Academy Long was a
three-time All-American (1975, 1976, 1977), and is the
school’s career leader in total points (233) and assists
(149). He set the school’s single-season assists record with
53 in 1977. Long was an attackman for the 1978 and 1986 U.S.
Men’s National Teams, winning a world championship in 1986.
He also served as an assistant coach for the 1998 World Champion
U.S. Men's National Team. He has been a highly-successful coach at
Ithaca College since 1988. Long was inducted into the US Lacrosse
Greater Rochester Chapter Hall of Fame (1992) and the United States
Naval Academy Hall of Fame (2007).
Jennifer Miller O’Donnell
Jennifer Miller O’Donnell will be inducted as a truly great
official. One of the most respected umpires in the country, she
received her first rating in 1983 and moved through the ranks
quickly, attaining the highest rating available –
international- in 1994. In addition to working post-season
tournaments for the ACC, CAA, Atlantic 10, Patriot League, Big East
& ALC conferences, Jen has worked the NCAA Division I Final
Four for the past 19 years. She has been on the NCAA's final game
in 11 of those years. In addition to her extensive umpiring
schedule, Jen is a collegiate assignor for 43 NCAA colleges &
universities. In 1999, she was chosen to umpire the U-19 World
Championships in Perth, Australia. She has since worked two World
Cup Tournaments, 2001 in England and 2005 in Annapolis, Md.. Over
the years, Jen has been a clinician for international rules and
umpiring and has umpired international games in the USA involving
Japan, Canada, Wales and England. She has been a clinician and
evaluator on the local, national and international levels. In
addition, she has been a speaker at the US Lacrosse National
Convention numerous times. O’Donnell was inducted into the US
Lacrosse Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter Lacrosse Hall of
Fame in 2009.
Jessica Wilk Strosberg
Jessica Wilk Strosberg (Maryland ’90/U.S. National Team)
will be inducted as a truly great Player. Wilk played at the Ellis
School (PA) and was an All-American goalie at Maryland. At
Maryland, she won an NCAA Division I national championship (1986)
and served as team captain in 1990. Wilk went on to a standout
career with the U.S. national team, playing on the 1993, 1997, 2001
and 2005 World Cup teams. She served as team captain on the last
three of those teams. Wilk won three World Cups with the U.S. team
and was named to the All-World team following the 2005 World Cup.
In 1998, she won the Beth Allen award at the US Lacrosse
Women’s Division National Tournament. Wilk was inducted into
the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame (2005).
Kevin Lowe
Kevin Lowe (Princeton ’94) will be inducted as a truly great
player. An All-American high school lacrosse player from Mineola,
N.Y., Lowe captured spots in the National High School North/South
All-Star Game (1990), Nassau County All-Star Game (1990) and Empire
State Games (1989). At Princeton, Lowe was an All-American
(1992-94) and team captain (1993-94). He holds the school records
for career points (247), career assists (174) and assists in a game
(9). In 1994, Lowe received the USILA Turnbull Award
(Attackman-of-the-Year). In his tenure, Princeton won two NCAA
national championships (1992, 1994) and he was All-Ivy League all
four years, including Ivy League Player of the Year in 1994. Lowe
was a member of the 2002 U.S. Men’s National Team that won a
world championship and he played professionally in the NLL from
1995 through 2003 and in the MLL in 2003. Additionally, he played
with the Long Island-Hofstra lacrosse club from 1996-2002. Last
year, Lowe was inducted into the US Lacrosse Long Island Metro
Chapter Hall of Fame. His father, Alan, and brother, Darren, are
also members of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Mark Millon
Mark Millon (Massachusetts ’93/Team USA) will be inducted as
a truly great player. Millon was a two-time first team All-American
in college and was the New England Player of the Year (1993). He
was voted the MVP of the North/South All-Star Game following his
senior year. Professionally, Millon received numerous honors
playing both the NLL and MLL. In the MLL he was voted the league
co-MVP in 2005 and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2002 and
2003. In 2002 he led the Baltimore Bayhawks to the MLL Championship
garnering MVP honors in the championship game. He retired as the
game's all-time leading scorer with 356 points and with multiple
game records including points in a game (9G, 5A). In the NLL,
Millon was a two-time, first team All-Pro and helped the
Philadelphia Wings to the league title in 2001. Millon was a member
of the 1994 and 1998 U.S. Men’s National Teams, where he won
All-World and Tournament MVP honors in 1994 and All-World and Best
Attackmen in 1998. He helped the U.S. win two world championships.
Millon was USCLA Player of the Year (1994, 1995, 1998) during his
playing time for Long Island Lacrosse Club and Mt. Washington Club.
Millon was inducted into the US Lacrosse Long Island Metro Chapter
Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2009) and the University of Massachusetts
Hall of Fame (2004).
Patricia Price Genovese
Pat Genovese will be inducted as a truly great coach. Genovese has
had a prolific career as coach at William Smith since 1972 She
boasts a 362-133-1 career record with 16 NCAA Division III
Tournament appearances. She has also tutored over 90 All-American
players. She was the first collegiate coach, male or female, to
secure 350 wins and her 362 career wins ranks second in NCAA
history among women’s lacrosse coaches. Genovese is a
three-time Division III Coach of the Year, three-time Regional
Coach of the Year, three-time NYSWCAA Coach of the Year and
three-time North/South All-Star Game head coach. She was also an
assistant coach for the U.S. women’s national team program.
Genovese was inducted into the US Lacrosse Greater Rochester
Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1998) as well as the SUNY Cortland
Hall of Fame, the William Smith Hall of Honor, and the Green
Mountain Hall of Fame. Additionally, Pat and her husband’s
four children - Meghan, Lisa, Tracy and Rob - all graduated from
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, with Meghan and Tracy having
both played lacrosse in college under their mother's
leadership.
Todd Curry
Todd Curry (Syracuse ‘87) will be inducted as a truly great
player. Curry was a three-year player for West Genesee High School
(Syracuse, N.Y.), three-time New York State lacrosse champion,
two-time All-League (1982, 1983) selectee and honored as a high
school All-American (1983). He was the MVP in the 1983 North/South
High School All-Star Game. A four-year starter at Syracuse, he
earned first team All-America honors in 1986 and 1987, and second
team honors in 1985. He also received the USILA's MacLaughlin Award
(Midfielder-of-the-Year) in 1987. Curry was a midfielder for the
1986 and 1994 U.S. Men’s National Teams that won world
championships. He also played 10 years of professional indoor
lacrosse in Washington (1 year), Philadelphia (3 years) and
Baltimore (6 years). He was a member of 1990 NLL champion
Philadelphia Wings. Curry was inducted into the US Lacrosse Upstate
New York Chapter Hall of Fame (2004) and the US Lacrosse Greater
Baltimore Chapter Hall of Fame (2008).
