April 17, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's lacrosse senior defender Ryan Parker from Ellicott City, Md., took some time out from his busy schedule to chat with RedStormSports.com as the weeks begin to close on the Class of 2008's final season.

As a senior in 2008, Parker has stepped into his leadership role by earning a starting position on defense, joining fellow classmates Mike Luyster and Tim LaMare in the St. John's backfield. The trio of seniors has anchored a man-down defense unit that has been ranked in the NCAA Division I top 10 all season.

Parker is a leader off the field as well as a member of the student-athlete honor society, Chi Alpha Sigma.

"Parker is a very smart defender who possesses excellent knowledge of our schemes," said head coach Jason Miller.

RedStormSports: What is one word to describe the St. John's lacrosse team?
Ryan Parker: Resilient. Resiliency is the ability to recover from adversity (a brief definition for the rest of my teammates). St. John's is a blue-collar, scrappy, never-give-up kind of team. This team has too much fight to ever count us out.

RSS: Who's your favorite character in Entourage?
Parker: Johnny "Drama" -- the main character's C-list actor/brother. Drama tries so hard to be the man, but falls short, time and time again. VICTORY!!!

RSS: What makes Mark Teixeira your favorite pro athlete?
Parker: Mark Teixeira graduated from my high school, Mount Saint Joseph. I admire him because although he has become an MLB All-Star, he still remembers where his success started and has given back to the community. Recently, he jump-started the renovations to the athletic fields at the Mount by donating $1 million.

RSS: So far, what is your favorite moment of the past three seasons on the team?
Parker: I am sure the seniors would agree that there have been so many good times, but one memory that sticks out the most was our first ECAC win against Rutgers last year.

RSS: What's your favorite quote from Coach Miller?
Parker: While discussing a questionable call from a referee at Lafayette earlier this season, he yelled "What kind of call is that, you MEATBALL!"

RSS: What is one interesting thing no one on the team knows about you?
Parker: Just my roommates know, but I have a pet ball python named Charley. Unfortunately, I have to give her up after college because of family differences (Momma Parker doesn't like Charley).

RSS: Why did you choose to go to St. John's?
Parker: I chose to come to Queens because of the opportunity to compete in the most competitive conference in the nation.

RSS: If you weren't playing lacrosse what sport would you be playing?
Parker: Probably darts, because there is absolutely no running involved.

RSS: What are your plans for after graduation?
Parker: I will be flying out to Beaverton, Ore., to take part in the Nike Adrenaline Internship program. After the 10-week internship, I plan to attend law school in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. area.

RSS: What are you thoughts going to Hobart this weekend? Is there anything specific you personally want to accomplish?
Parker: As a team we need to bring the same intensity from last weekend, as well as executing the game plan. Personally, I need to dominate my match-up while supporting the team defense as a whole.

RSS: Recap the Penn State game, how does it feel to get your first win of the season?
Parker: The PSU game felt great. Our execution on both sides of the ball was stellar, and Jack [Rosson] did a great job on the face-offs (Although I think the television announcers gave Jack a little too much praise for his "speed"). It was great to see the offense firing on all cylinders, and those guys deserve the majority of the credit.

Check back with RedStormSports.com next week for the last senior spotlight featuring senior midfielder and face-off specialist Jack Rosson!

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