Dave Pietramala

The 108th meeting of a Maryland-Johns Hopkins series featured an appearance by a pair of NFL coaches. The Ravens' John Harbaugh and the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick stood on the sideline of the annual clash between the No. 10 Terps and the No. 5 Blue Jays at Homewood Field in Baltimore on Saturday night. Both coaches were positioned along the Johns Hopkins sideline. It's well known that Belichick and Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala have become close friends. Pietramala attended the Patriots' win over the Ravens in January's AFC championship as the New England coach's guest.

Dave Pietramala was sitting in the lacrosse office at Johns Hopkins University yesterday, rereading a letter that he had just written to his former players, when he was asked if his decision to accept the position as head coach of Cornell University's men's lacrosse team was a difficult one."Boy, that's an understatement," said Pietramala, who left an indelible mark on Johns Hopkins lacrosse over the past decade as both a player and assistant coach. "I have a lot of mixed emotions."On one hand, I'm leaving something that I've given my heart and soul to as a player and coach and I'm leaving a lot of great people and some great kids," he said.

Dave Pietramala's reputation for being cautious and methodical precedes him as he takes to the recruiting trail every summer. The Johns Hopkins coach cast that aside when it came to wooing Zach Palmer. In 2008, Pietramala received an email from former Georgetown standout Brodie Merrill, the coach at The Hill Academy, a prep school in Ontario, Canada. Embedded in the email was a four-minute video clip of a small, fast attackman who dodged, dippedand dazzled against his opponents.

Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala has signed a two-year contact extension that will him with the Blue Jays through the 2015 season. Terms of the deal were not announced. Pietramala is coming off his ninth season as coach of the Blue Jays and has compiled a 106-30 (.779) record during his tenure. He guided Hopkins to NCAA Division I national championships in 2005 and 2007 and runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2008. The Blue Jays have qualified for the NCAA tournament every year under Pietramala.

Rob Guida's status remains uncertain as No. 12 Johns Hopkins prepares to meet No. 13 Virginia in the second game of the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic doubleheader at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore this Saturday. The junior midfielder had recorded one goal and one assists in two starts before missing the Blue Jays' last four contests. But coach Dave Pietramala said the program is not considering shelving Guida for the remainder of the season and applying for a medical redshirt. “I think you always have to weigh that option, and I think you always have to weight what's in the best interest of the young man health-wise,” Pietramala said Thursday morning.

In light of Johns Hopkins president Ronald J. Daniels' decision to form a committee to explore the potential of joining a conference for the men's lacrosse program, there's a school of thought that the panel is merely a precursor to the university abandoning its 130 years of independence. The committee is expected to produce a report for Daniels by May 15 and then he will make a decision shortly afterward. While multiple reports have suggested that the Big Ten, the Big East and the Eastern College Athletic Conference are interested in Johns Hopkins, coach Dave Pietramala emphasized that the panel is researching the benefits and disadvantages of conference affiliation, but not determining which conference is best for the university.

Navy is 5-6, no longer in contention for a berth in the Patriot League Tournament and on the cusp of ending its season against Johns Hopkins for the second consecutive year. But Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala said he has no intention of overlooking the Midshipmen, who welcome No. 9 Johns Hopkins (9-2) to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis this Saturday. “Whenever we've stepped onto Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, we're playing against the United States Naval Academy,” he said Wednesday.

Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala has often been a guest of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, attending games while standing on the sideline at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. With the Patriots slated to meet the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Sunday, Pietramala has a ticket to the contest -- but will not attend. “I have a ticket, I have a hotel room with the Pats and I'm not going,” Pietramala said Friday morning. “I can't. Just too much here.

No. 2 Johns Hopkins disposed of UMBC, 12-5, at theKonica Minolta Face-Off Classicat M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, but reining in penalties figures to be a topic the team will address this week during practice. The Blue Jays were flagged for six penalties, including a pair of 60-second penalties for sophomore long-stick midfielder Jack Reilly on the same play in the second quarter. The Retrievers were awarded seven extra-man opportunities, which nearly matched the 10 man-down chances Johns Hopkins had surrendered in five contests prior to Saturday.

John Webster of Boys' Latin and the University of North Carolina was the first player chosen in last night's Major Indoor Lacrosse League draft, joining a Philadelphia Wings attack that includes Paul and Gary Gait and Rob Shek.The Wings, runners-up for the MILL title this past season, obtained the top pick from the Baltimore Thunder in the John Tucker trade.Three Loyola College players were taken in the second and third rounds. Forward Paul Cantabene was the first player chosen in the second round, by the Thunder.