April 28, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; April 28, 2015 - Ahead of the inaugural Big Ten Men's Lacrosse Tournament this weekend, Penn State picked up two All-Big Ten plaudits, with TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ontario) and Mike Sutton (Sewell, N.J.) named All-Big Ten honorable mentions, the conference office announced Tuesday. Additionally, Kyle Zittel (Eden, N.Y.) earned the team's Sportsmanship Award.
Sanders leads the Nittany Lions with 27 goals and 12 assists for 39 points. He is currently fifth in the Big Ten with 2.08 goals per game, tied for sixth with three points per game and tied for ninth with 0.92 assists per game. This season, the junior scored multiple goals eight times, and has recorded at least one point in every contest, surpassing his career-high in assists. In 2015, Sanders became the third junior Nittany Lion since 2009 to score 100-or-more points (114), alongside current Major Lacrosse League players Shane Sturgis (108) and Matt Mackrides (102).
Sutton, a sophomore, is in the midst of a 17-game point streak and currently ranks second on the team with 24 goals and 28 points. In the conference rankings, Sutton currently sits fourth with 7.38 shots per game and ninth with 1.85 goals per game. He has six multi-goal games, including two hat tricks, on the year.
The Nittany Lions' first solo captain since 1978, Zittel has played in 11 of Penn State's 13 contests this season as a defensive midfielder. He has one assist, six ground balls and one caused turnover on the year. The science major has a cumulative 3.49 grade point average and intends to enroll in medical school upon graduation.
No.4-seeded Penn State opens the Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Maryland, on Thus., April 30. The semifinal game begins at 5:30 p.m. against No. 1-seeded Johns Hopkins on the Big Ten Network.