Souders named a finalist for prestigious Senior CLASS Award
4/2/2014 10:43:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Vote for Souders | Complete Release
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Continuing his success on and off the field, Lehigh men's lacrosse standout Ty Souders has been named a finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, as announced on Wednesday. The original pool of 20 candidates has been cut in half to 10 finalists. Souders becomes Lehigh's second finalist in the last four years following Jonathan Stumpf, in 2011 who garnered a spot on the program's All-America First Team.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 20 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 12. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore May 24-26.
Three of the 10 finalists come from the Patriot League as Souders joins Joe Fletcher and Justin Ward of Loyola. The other finalists are Troy Dennis (Detroit), Michael Ehrhardt (Maryland), Rob Emery (Virginia), John LoCascio (Villanova), Joe Meurer (Ohio State), Stephen O'Hara (Notre Dame) and Tom Schreiber (Princeton).
Souders has continued his strong play on the field this season, leading a defense which stands second nationally allowing just 6.45 goals per game. This comes after the Mountain Hawks finished second nationally in 2012 (6.61 goals per game) and sixth in 2013 (7.94 per game). Souders has posted 30 groundballs and eight caused turnovers this season, highlighted by a career-high six groundballs to go with two caused turnovers in a triple overtime win over Villanova.
The Macungie, Pa. native owns 125 groundballs and 50 caused turnovers for his career, earning All-America recognition each of the last two seasons along with First then Second Team All-Patriot League honors, respectively. He had 29 groundballs and eight caused turnovers as a freshman, 31 and 15 as a sophomore and 35 and 19 as a junior.
Souders was named a Second Team preseason All-American in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook. Souders was selected 22nd overall by the Denver Outlaws in January's Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.
In the classroom, Souders has accumulated a 3.54 GPA as a Finance major. He's been named to the end-of-year Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions while making the Dean's List each of the last two semesters. Souders has garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award every semester (for a GPA over 3.2). He's been one of only 11 players in the league named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team, earning a spot on the team each of the last two seasons.
The Emmaus High School graduate has work experience in his field at Solebury Capital Group as an Equity Capital Markets Summer Analyst. He worked there this past summer, performing a case study analyzing gross spreads for all IPO's from 2008-2013, using data pulled from Dealogic in order to determine the effect on bank proceeds when an advisor was on the deal. Souders was responsible for updating various databases, daily market summaries and drafting internal memos. He contributed to the breakdown of pitch books into a consolidated summary for clients, specifically created biography pages on research analysts.
Souders was voted team captain for 2014 and was a game captain as a junior last season. He's been part of Lehigh's Leadership Legacies Program where he participates in biweekly workshops to become a more effective team leader. As part of the program, he studies conflict resolution, communication and group dynamics. Souders is a tremendous influence for his younger teammates in all areas. He is also a founder/coach of Souders Defensive Fundamentals, teaching hour-long private lessons for high school defensemen who want to improve their fundamental and overall lacrosse knowledge. Souders organizes lesson plans and schedules facilities to the satisfaction of athletes and their parents.
Lehigh men's lacrosse is very active in the local community and Souders has helped pave the way. He recently volunteered at the Bethlehem Boys and Girls Club and Calypso Elementary Homework Club on Wednesday afternoons during the fall semester, doing various activities with the youngsters, including help with homework and athletics. Souders has been involved with Make a Wish, MS Society, selling t-shirts and collecting change while helping raise over $2,000 for various charities. Souders and the Mountain Hawks host a yearly "Community Night" in the fall as local youngsters converge at Lehigh for a one-hour clinic with the players and coaches.
Souders has been involved with C.O.A.C.H. at Lehigh (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care about Helping), a service program that operates in accord with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports to help (along with parents, teachers and coaches) middle and high school student-athletes and their peers, make informed choices regarding their education, drug and alcohol issues and other factors which may affect reaching their full potential. Souders and other Lehigh student-athletes talk about substance abuse, time management, academic motivation and other concerns of younger students and student-athletes.
The C.O.A.C.H. program handles numerous presentations to student groups in settings ranging from team meetings to school assemblies to sports banquets. They also run sports clinics with an educational theme, group outings to Lehigh athletic events and more. One special event is an annual Adopt-A-Family around the holidays. Each Lehigh Athletics team adopts an underprivileged family; they then raise money throughout the semester to purchase holiday presents for their adopted family. The event wraps up with an event where all the student-athletes present the gifts to the families. The Mountain Hawks raise nearly $30,000 annually.
Owning an 8-3 overall record and 4-2 Patriot League mark, the Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday in a big league matchup against #16/19 Colgate. It's also Senior Day as Souders along with his 12 senior classmates will be recognized prior to the game. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lacrosse Finalists
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Continuing his success on and off the field, Lehigh men's lacrosse standout Ty Souders has been named a finalist for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, as announced on Wednesday. The original pool of 20 candidates has been cut in half to 10 finalists. Souders becomes Lehigh's second finalist in the last four years following Jonathan Stumpf, in 2011 who garnered a spot on the program's All-America First Team.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 20 candidates announced in February. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through May 12. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Baltimore May 24-26.
Three of the 10 finalists come from the Patriot League as Souders joins Joe Fletcher and Justin Ward of Loyola. The other finalists are Troy Dennis (Detroit), Michael Ehrhardt (Maryland), Rob Emery (Virginia), John LoCascio (Villanova), Joe Meurer (Ohio State), Stephen O'Hara (Notre Dame) and Tom Schreiber (Princeton).
Souders has continued his strong play on the field this season, leading a defense which stands second nationally allowing just 6.45 goals per game. This comes after the Mountain Hawks finished second nationally in 2012 (6.61 goals per game) and sixth in 2013 (7.94 per game). Souders has posted 30 groundballs and eight caused turnovers this season, highlighted by a career-high six groundballs to go with two caused turnovers in a triple overtime win over Villanova.
The Macungie, Pa. native owns 125 groundballs and 50 caused turnovers for his career, earning All-America recognition each of the last two seasons along with First then Second Team All-Patriot League honors, respectively. He had 29 groundballs and eight caused turnovers as a freshman, 31 and 15 as a sophomore and 35 and 19 as a junior.
Souders was named a Second Team preseason All-American in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook. Souders was selected 22nd overall by the Denver Outlaws in January's Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.
In the classroom, Souders has accumulated a 3.54 GPA as a Finance major. He's been named to the end-of-year Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions while making the Dean's List each of the last two semesters. Souders has garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award every semester (for a GPA over 3.2). He's been one of only 11 players in the league named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team, earning a spot on the team each of the last two seasons.
The Emmaus High School graduate has work experience in his field at Solebury Capital Group as an Equity Capital Markets Summer Analyst. He worked there this past summer, performing a case study analyzing gross spreads for all IPO's from 2008-2013, using data pulled from Dealogic in order to determine the effect on bank proceeds when an advisor was on the deal. Souders was responsible for updating various databases, daily market summaries and drafting internal memos. He contributed to the breakdown of pitch books into a consolidated summary for clients, specifically created biography pages on research analysts.
Souders was voted team captain for 2014 and was a game captain as a junior last season. He's been part of Lehigh's Leadership Legacies Program where he participates in biweekly workshops to become a more effective team leader. As part of the program, he studies conflict resolution, communication and group dynamics. Souders is a tremendous influence for his younger teammates in all areas. He is also a founder/coach of Souders Defensive Fundamentals, teaching hour-long private lessons for high school defensemen who want to improve their fundamental and overall lacrosse knowledge. Souders organizes lesson plans and schedules facilities to the satisfaction of athletes and their parents.
Lehigh men's lacrosse is very active in the local community and Souders has helped pave the way. He recently volunteered at the Bethlehem Boys and Girls Club and Calypso Elementary Homework Club on Wednesday afternoons during the fall semester, doing various activities with the youngsters, including help with homework and athletics. Souders has been involved with Make a Wish, MS Society, selling t-shirts and collecting change while helping raise over $2,000 for various charities. Souders and the Mountain Hawks host a yearly "Community Night" in the fall as local youngsters converge at Lehigh for a one-hour clinic with the players and coaches.
Souders has been involved with C.O.A.C.H. at Lehigh (Community Outreach by Athletes who Care about Helping), a service program that operates in accord with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports to help (along with parents, teachers and coaches) middle and high school student-athletes and their peers, make informed choices regarding their education, drug and alcohol issues and other factors which may affect reaching their full potential. Souders and other Lehigh student-athletes talk about substance abuse, time management, academic motivation and other concerns of younger students and student-athletes.
The C.O.A.C.H. program handles numerous presentations to student groups in settings ranging from team meetings to school assemblies to sports banquets. They also run sports clinics with an educational theme, group outings to Lehigh athletic events and more. One special event is an annual Adopt-A-Family around the holidays. Each Lehigh Athletics team adopts an underprivileged family; they then raise money throughout the semester to purchase holiday presents for their adopted family. The event wraps up with an event where all the student-athletes present the gifts to the families. The Mountain Hawks raise nearly $30,000 annually.
Owning an 8-3 overall record and 4-2 Patriot League mark, the Mountain Hawks return to action on Saturday in a big league matchup against #16/19 Colgate. It's also Senior Day as Souders along with his 12 senior classmates will be recognized prior to the game. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
Like Lehigh men's lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Lacrosse Finalists
| Troy Dennis, Detroit | Joe Meurer, Ohio State |
| Michael Ehrhardt, Maryland | Stephen O'Hara, Notre Dame |
| Rob Emery, Virginia | Tom Schreiber, Princeton |
| Joe Fletcher, Loyola (Maryland) | Ty Souders, Lehigh |
| John LoCascio, Villanova | Justin Ward, Loyola (Maryland) |
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