June 14, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State men's lacrosse senior TJ Sanders (Orillia, Ontario) has been named a 2016 Scholar All-American, as announced by the United State Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA). Sanders is the ninth Nittany Lion in program history to earn the honor and the fourth under head coach Jeff Tambroni.
Sanders follows Penn State's most recent honoree, goalkeeper Austin Kaut, who was named a Scholar All-American in 2014. Former Nittany Lions Nick Dolik and Matthew Mackrides also earned USILA Scholar All-America honors under Tambroni.
A four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Sanders is one of 43 DI student-athletes nation-wide to receive the award, which began in 1989. The supply chain and information sciences major earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar accolades in 2014 and 2015.
On the field, Sanders closed out his career in the Blue and White starting all 15 games, scoring once in all but two games this season, finishing second on the team with 28 goals. He dished out 15 assists on the year to finish third on the team with 43 points, marking his second 40-plus point scoring season. Sanders also helped the Nittany Lions to their second consecutive Big Ten Tournament semifinals appearance during the 2016 season.
The USILA Scholar All-America Program was established to recognize student-athletes from USILA member institutions who have distinguished themselves academically, athletically and as citizens of their communities. The USILA Selection Committee annually selects an overall team representing Division I, II and III.
A Scholar All-American must be nominated by his coach and be a student with a senior year academic standing and a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale). The USILA also requires that all nominees have behaved in a manner that has brought credit to himself, his institution, and to college lacrosse both on and off the field.
To view the complete list of 2016 USILA Scholar All-America honorees, please click here.