April 24, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's lacrosse senior midfielder Jack Rosson, from Severna Park, Md., sat down with RedStormSports.com for the final installment of Senior Spotlight Q&A's, as the Red Storm prepares for its last home game of the season against ECAC-rival Fairfield on Saturday. The contest will feature a pre-game celebration honoring the 2008 senior class.

Rosson, a Severn High alum, has been the Red Storm's leading face-off specialist for two consecutive seasons. Rosson started four games for St. John's in his rookie season and has since become an integral part of the Red Storm midfield.

Last season, Rosson helped the Red Storm to maintain a top 35 NCAA Division I ranking in face-off win percentage. He was also individually listed on the NCAA top 100 for face-off win percentage and ground balls per game, ranking as high as 19th in ground balls per game.

With his final season coming to a close, Rosson has repeated his successes, as he once again made the NCAA top 100 list in face-off win percentage for 10 straight weeks. Currently, Rosson is 38th in face-off win percentage (.482) and is 35th in ground balls per game (4.09).

Rosson has six points thus far on five goals and one assist. Three of those goals have come directly from face-off wins.

"Jack is workhorse at the face-off X. He has the ability to physically dominate and has worked hard to become a better technician," said head coach Jason Miller. "He can play both ends of the field, which makes him better than a traditional face-off man."

RedStormSports: What is on your iPod on game day?
Jack Rosson: I have a pretty big variety of music on my iPod. Earlier in the day, I will listen to some heavier stuff like Godsmack or Linkin Park to get pumped up; but then I need to switch it over to some Kenny Chesney as it gets closer to game-time. The country music helps keep me a little bit loose so I don't get nervous and it also helps to remind me to have fun out there.

RSS: What's your favorite quote from Coach Miller?
Rosson: "Rubbin's Racing." This is a quote from Days of Thunder, when Robert Duval tells his young driver that some bumping of the cars on the track is the way of the race. Coach says this a lot during practice to help us move on from one play to the next regardless of what happens.

RSS: Has your time with the Red Storm been as you expected?
Rosson: In a way yes, when I came to St. John's I knew that it was going to be a tough go from the start, in terms of building a competitive program. But having almost finished my final season, I had no idea how close we could grow as a team. It is great sharing the common bond with the rest of our seniors, knowing that we were an important building block to this program.

RSS: What's your favorite quote from CaddyShack?
Rosson: Anything Chevy Chase says, most of which are inappropriate.

RSS: Why is Matt Stover your favorite athlete?
Rosson: Stover has always been a great example of a classy athlete that works hard and does his job consistently well every day. He is the only Baltimore Raven that has been there since day one, and nine times out of 10 will make a big play when the team needs him to.

RSS: What advice would you give your younger siblings or any high school athletes who are looking to play a sport in college?
Rosson: To be prepared to dedicate yourself completely to whatever you decide to do. Playing a sport in college is like a full-time job, and if you don't treat it that way, you won't be successful.

RSS: What are your plans for after graduation?
Rosson: I will be staying in the area, working as a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial.

RSS: What are your thoughts on playing Fairfield this weekend? Is there anything specific you personally want to accomplish?
Rosson: The fact that it's Senior Day and we get the chance to compete for a league win against a team that ran up the score on us a couple years back is huge. I can't think of a better opponent that I would like to get a win against on such a big day for us seniors.

RSS: What advice would you give to next year's senior class?
Rosson: To go hard in practice every day. Time is running out a lot faster than seems possible, so relish every second when you are out on the field. That time is the only opportunity you have where you can forget about everything else and do something that you love.

To reread all the interviews with the 2008 senior class click
here.

To receive updated information on St. John's men's lacrosse please send an email to Kristin Duffy at stjcommunications@stjohns.edu with the subject "Men's Lacrosse E-mail."