With the Syracuse lacrosse season underway, we caught up with former defenseman Tom Guadagnolo on this week’s The Juice on the Cuse Podcast, presented by SNY.tv.
Guadagnolo was a co-captain of the 2011 team, and appeared in 55 games throughout his Syracuse career. In his senior season, he started all 17 games on close defense, and was a member of the last two SU national championship teams (2008 and 2009).
Though the Orange is only 1-2 to start the season, he’s seen a lot of positives in the losses to No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Virginia.”What they were able to show against Maryland shows the grittiness and the willingness to dig,” Guadagnolo says. “That’s something either teams have or don’t, and these guys showed they have it.”Guadagnolo played for John Desko, the hall of fame coach who retired from Syracuse in the offseason. Though he’s never been coached by Gary Gait, he’s gotten to know him through alumni games, and praised what Gait brings to the sidelines.
“He’s done everything he’s asking his players to do,” Guadagnolo says. “Whether or not things click immediately, he’s been through everything. He’s done a lot in his career. Having someone like him at the helm of the program, you can’t go wrong.”
Guadagnolo added that he expects the wins to start coming soon, and preached patience in the meantime.
“I’m sure they’ll end up getting there,” he says. “They’ve got a tough schedule. Losing in February is not the end of the world.
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“This is motivation to keep digging in. They need to believe in Gary, and I’m sure they do. It doesn’t happen over night.”
Guadagnolo also chats about what he’s been up to since his playing days, his favorite memories from Syracuse, and also what he’d tell the current team if he had a chance.
Afterward, editor in chief Brad Bierman calls in to discuss Syracuse’s basketball’s frustrating overtime loss to North Carolina on Monday. He also breaks down whether SU can defeat Miami on Monday to avoid a losing season for the first time in Jim Boeheim’s tenure at Syracuse.
Catch up on all episodes of “The Juice on the Cuse Podcast,” a Syracuse Orange podcast, by subscribing to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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