May 2, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Big Ten conference office announced its end-of-year award winners and All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday, May 2, with three members of the Penn State men's lacrosse team in senior attackman Nick Aponte, sophomore attackman Grant Ament and sophomore defender Chris Sabia earning All-Big Ten recognition.
Aponte was one of three consensus picks named to the All-Big Ten First Team, marking the second time in his career he's earned the unanimous nod. Ament joined Aponte on the first team, while Sabia earned All-Big Ten Second Team distinction.
The All-Big Ten selections and end-of-year award winners are chosen by the conference's coaches.
Aponte and Ament mark the second and third All-Big Ten First Team selections for Penn State, joining Aponte's first plaudit last season. Sabia is Penn State's first ever second team selection. In three years in the Big Ten conference, Penn State men's lacrosse has now garnered eight total All-Big Ten honorees.
Aponte earns the first team nod following his most productive season to date. The team's assist leader, Aponte has posted 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points on the season. With eight goals and 14 assists, the senior captain set a new Penn State record for points in a Big Ten season with 22 total. Last time he took the field, Aponte logged a career-high nine points on five goals and four assists. In his final year of eligibility, Aponte ranks 12th among Penn State players all-time in career points with 136 (67 goals, 69 assists). His 69 assists rank eighth most ever by a Penn State player.
Ament earns his First Team All-Big Ten honors for the first time following a season in which he's led Penn State in points with 55 total (27 goals, 28 assists). The sophomore ranks 20th in the nation and second in the Big Ten in point production, averaging 3.93 points per game. Ament became Penn State's 24th 100-point scorer earlier this season, with his 109 career points ranking 21st all-time for the program.
Sabia takes home Second Team All-Big Ten honors after a standout season. The sophomore has a team-high 19 caused turnovers and 23 groundballs currently. Sabia's 1.36 caused turnovers per game were second best in the Big Ten conference and ranked 36th nationally. With 31 forced turnovers to date, the Haverford School product leads Penn State's active roster in career takeaways.
Penn State (12-2, 3-2 Big Ten) enters the Big Ten tournament on Thursday, facing top-seeded Maryland (10-3, 4-1 Big Ten) at 5 p.m. ET in Columbus, Ohio. The game is set for national broadcast on the Big Ten Network with Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon on the call. The winner of the semifinal will face either Ohio State or Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten tournament championship, Saturday, May 6, at 7:30 p.m.
BIG TEN END-OF-YEAR AWARDS
Coach of the Year: John Tillman, Maryland
Offensive Player of the Year: Matt Rambo, Maryland
Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Muller, Maryland
Freshman of the Year: Tre LeClaire, Ohio State
Specialist of the Year: Jake Withers, Ohio State
First-Team All-Big Ten*
Nick Fields, Johns Hopkins
Joel Tinney, Johns Hopkins
Connor Kelly, Maryland
Tim Muller, Maryland
MATT RAMBO, Maryland
Tom Carey, Ohio State
Eric Fannell, Ohio State
JAKE WITHERS, Ohio State
Grant Ament, Penn State
Nick Aponte, Penn State
Michael Rexrode, Rutgers
Second-Team All-Big Ten
Kyle Marr, Johns Hopkins
Shack Stanwick, Johns Hopkins
Isaiah Davis-Allen, Maryland
Colin Heacock, Maryland
Tim Rotanz, Maryland
Tre LeClaire, Ohio State
Ben Randall, Ohio State
Chris Sabia, Penn State
Max Edelmann, Rutgers
Kieran Mullins, Rutgers
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to tie
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