Lacrosse to Host Inaugural Battle at the Beach Tournament
Florida Tech men’s lacrosse will host the inaugural Battle at the Beach Sunday, Nov. 6, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Melbourne Central Catholic’s Hustler Stadium.
Club teams from Florida Gulf Coast, University of Miami and Palm Beach Atlantic will join FIT in the exhibition tournament. The teams will play a total of six games, each will last one hour and 15 minutes, and host a 30-minute clinic open to lacrosse players and the public.
All proceeds will benefit the Michael Stolzenberg Trust. Stolzenberg, an 11-year-old boy from Weston, Fla., lost all four of his limbs after being bitten by a bug in 2008 when he was eight. The bite resulted in a bacterial infection. Antibiotics were unable to cure it because he has a rare genetic immune disorder, chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Loss of circulation to his extremities caused gangrene, which required amputation.
Up until the incident, Stolzenberg was the quarterback on his youth football team, a lacrosse player, a bicycle rider and video game player. With the help of donations and prosthetics, he has continued to participate in physical activities. As he continues to grow, additional prosthetics will be needed.
“Michael’s story is very inspiring to all of us,” FIT head coach Ryan McAleavey said. “He’s a model of courage, optimism, and hard work, and he is admired by our whole team. We are going to help him any way we can.”
Contests will be held throughout the day, including fastest shot and accuracy. Commemorative t-shirts and food will be available for purchase. Also, several items will be raffled off, again in support of the Stolzenberg Trust.
“Hosting this tournament is a great way for us to break out of the gate and get involved with our community,” McAleavey added. “It’s going to be a good measuring stick for our team. Our players have marked this tournament down for quite some time. They are really excited to finally have the opportunity to put on our Florida Tech gear and head out to the field.”
General admission tickets are $7. Senior citizens (60 and older) and children (ages 6-18) are $5. College students that display their student ID and children (ages 5 and under) are free. The cost to attend a clinic is $5.
Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, please contact McAleavey at 321-674-8289 or e-mail rmcaleavey@fit.edu.
Game Schedule
Game 1 – 9–10:15 a.m. Florida Tech vs. Palm Beach Atlantic
Game 2 – 10:15–11:30 a.m. University of Miami vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Game 3 – 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Florida Tech vs. University of Miami
Game 4 – 12:45–2 p.m. Palm Beach Atlantic vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Game 5 – 2–3:15 p.m. Florida Tech vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Game 6 – 3:15–4:30 p.m. Palm Beach vs. University of Miami
Clinic Schedule
Clinic 1 – 10:30–11 a.m. Florida Tech
Clinic 2 – 11:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Florida Gulf Coast
Clinic 3 – 1–1:30 p.m. University of Miami
Clinic 4 – 2:15–2:45 p.m. Palm Beach Atlantic
