STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Anthony Gilardi led the Stony Brook men's lacrosse team to five wins in seven games in his abbreviated first season at the helm in 2020. He jokes he also went undefeated in America East play.

Now, Gilardi's squad is in full preparation for Year 2.

The team began official regular-season practices on Monday inside the Stony Brook Indoor Sports Complex.

"Last March, when it got shut down, the kids finally understood how important it is to make the most of the opportunity we have together and for every rep to count," Gilardi said.

With the bulk of last year's senior class returning, Stony Brook boasts a veteran squad. Five of those returnees have been selected captains: CJ Trenkle, Connor Grippe, Chris Pickel Jr., Tom Haun and Tom Dugan.

Haun, an attackman from Ronkonkoma, enters his second senior season already in the top 10 in goals in program history with 95.

"Those guys all played big minutes for us last year," Gilardi said. "… When you talk about bringing back all these fifth-year seniors who played, it's obviously so unique to the times we're in. But as a coaching staff, if you have all those guys coming back with the experience — they know the offense and defense — they're coaching themselves, which for Year 2 is something really exciting for us."