the Informer

[caption id="attachment_3860484" align="alignright" width="239" caption="Adam Manison"][/caption] Without playing one second of game action this year, two seniors on the men’s lacrosse program were chosen in the 2012 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft on Jan. 16. Wearing number 19 for the Hawks, Carter Bender was chosen by the Rochester Rattlers in the sixth round at 43^rd overall while Martin Bowes, number 12 for the Hawks, was chosen two rounds later at 64^th overall by the Boston Cannons. “I think both have a very bright future at the next level,” said men’s lacrosse head coach Peter Lawrence.  “Both are very talented, very skilled, but different. Different, according to Lawrence, in the sense that Bender, a member of the America East All-Rookie team his freshman year and has been on the All-Conference team since then, was a “known commodity” when he was highly recruited into Hartford. Where as Bowes, a walk-on not even recruited by Hartford out of high school, “is a really great story,” said Lawrence. Barely seeing the field his freshman year and most of the following year, Lawrence saw Bowes become the player he is during his transition from sophomore to junior year and said, “he hasn’t played his best lacrosse yet. “This something I’ve played my whole life,” said Bender on how he felt being drafted to play in lacrosse’s next level. “This is always something I’ve kind of dreamed about as a kid, growing up and watching the games.” After watching the draft and seeing themselves get drafted, Bender called Bowes, where they were both shared excitement to take their skills to the next level. “My hope is to play their this summer, I have to work hard to make the team,” said Bender on his MLL expectations. “I think it’s going to be a lot faster, a lot more serious. I think its something I got to work on.