Feb. 20, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Midfielder Nick Dolik (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was named a nominee for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday. Dolik is the second Nittany Lion in as many years to be nominated for the award after Matthew Mackrides was a finalist.
Dolik is one of 20 nominees who excel both on and off the field for the award. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, which focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in the community.
Dolik is majoring in business with a concentration in marketing. A three-year letterwinner on the team and a preseason All-CAA pick by the coaches, Dolik is one of the leaders of the Penn State lacrosse team that is 2-0 with a win over No. 9 Denver.
A Michigan native, Dolik is a member of the Armenian Youth Federation, Detroit Chapter, which helps support the Armenian community locally and globally. He works as a liaison for the AYF members in Chicago, Boston and New York.
Along with his teammates, Dolik helped fellow classmate Drew Roper (Columbus, Ohio) in Kim Roper's fight against non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The Penn State lacrosse team along with the student athletic training staff in Penn State sports medicine organized the Match4Kim swab drive to help find a bone marrow match for Roper and 10,000 more to fight lymphoma. In all, 3,600 donors were found through the drive on Penn State's campus.
Dolik and his teammates have also taken part in the Centre County United Way's Day of Caring, working with children at Houserville Weekly, teaching free youth lacrosse clinics in the county and assisting with the Military & Family Association. Before Penn State, Dolik volunteered in many projects in the city of Detroit while attending Brother Rice High School.
Dolik has also had to overcome many struggles in his athletic career to achieve the success he has had at Penn State. In junior year of high school, his closest grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and passed away as he dedicated the season in her memory. Dolik led the team to an undefeated season and a No. 1 ranking in the Inside Lacrosse High School polls as the leading scorer.
That summer, as a highly-touted recruit, Dolik sublexed his right hip and tore both his labrums and required surgery. After seven months of rehabilitation, he was named captain for his senior season, led his team to their fourth straight state title and earned Midwest Player of the Year honors. Ultimately, Dolik earned a scholarship to Penn State while overcoming a potentially career-ending injury.
On the lacrosse field at Penn State, Dolik has been one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the Nittany Lion arsenal. Amassing 50 goals, 14 assists and 64 points from the midfield, Dolik is a two-time All-CAA Second Team honoree.
Entering the season, Dolik has already been placed on the All-CAA Preseason Team as one of the top offensive threats in the league. As a junior, Dolik scored 18 goals and 22 points, while picking up 15 ground balls and causing five turnovers. He posted five multi-goal games and will be looked upon to contribute once again to the No. 14 Nittany Lions. That backed up a solid sophomore campaign in which he had 13 points and 19 ground balls from the midfield position. As a freshman, Dolik scored 21 times and had a career-high 27 points for the Nittany Lions.
Dolik is the CAA's lone representative. Penn State now has had four Senior CLASS Award nominees: Pat Heim (2007), Drew Adams (2009), Mackrides (2012) and Dolik (2013). Heim and Mackrides were both finalists for the award.
The Nittany Lion home opener is on Sunday at Noon against No. 3 Notre Dame for a top 10 matchup following PSU's 15-12 win over No. 9 Denver. Fighting Irish defender Matt Miller is also a Senior CLASS Award nominee. Admission and parking is free to the event.
--NITTANY LIONS--