May 3, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Four Nittany Lions earned Big Ten men's lacrosse post season awards, as announced by the conference this afternoon.
Tewaaraton nominee Nick Aponte highlights the group as a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten selection. Freshman Grant Ament and sophomore Mike Aronow earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors, while senior James Chakey earned Penn State's Sportsmanship Award selection.
Aponte is Penn State's first First-Team All-Big Ten selection in program history. A key component of the Nittany Lion attack unit, he was recently named one of 25 men's nominees for the Tewaaraton Award, college lacrosse's most prestigious awards. Starting all 14 games this year, Aponte currently ranks second on the team with 45 points, having scored 26 goals and notching 19 assists. Most recently, Aponte has led the team with a career-high tying four goals in each of the last three straight games.
Ament earns his first career Big Ten post season honor, having posted a stellar season in his first year in the Blue and White. Voted Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times this season, Ament is atop the team standing with 53 points, having dished out 34 assists in addition to registering 19 goals. On the Penn State all-time single season record list, Ament's 34 assists are the most by a Nittany Lion since John Hollerbach notched 38 in 1989. With the second-most assists among freshman in the NCAA, his 2.43 assists per game ranks second in the conference and fourth nationally.
Aronow also earns his first career Big Ten post season laurel. Having started all 14 games this season, Aronow has established himself as a key component to the Nittany Lion close defense. With a team-high 13 caused turnovers, he has forced multiple miscues in four games this season. He's also tallied at least one ground ball in all but four outings this season, totaling four in Penn State's 6-5 win on the road at Ohio State in its 2016 Big Ten opener.
Chakey earned Penn State's Sportsmanship Award, which is presented to a student-athlete who has distinguished himself through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the students must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports competition setting. Chakey recently received Penn State's True Grit award, which is given to two Nittany Lion student-athletes for overcoming adversities while continuing to succeed in the classroom and on the athletic field during their careers.
Both Aponte and Ament garnered Big Ten Weekly Awards this week. Aponte was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week after a five-point (4g/1a) performance against Michigan last week. Ament garnered his second consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week nod after leading the team with a seven-point outing against Michigan, posting a career-high six assists to go along with one goal and a personal-best four ground balls.
Penn State men's lacrosse (8-6) earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions are set to meet top-seeded Maryland (12-2) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals Thursday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field in Baltimore, Maryland.