Lehigh University Athletics
Fantoni and Snyder named to Tewaaraton Award Watch List
2/15/2012 9:32:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Lehigh men's lacrosse junior standouts Dante Fantoni and Ryan Snyder have been named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, as announced on Wednesday. The Tewaaraton is considered the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the nation's top collegiate lacrosse player. Fantoni and Snyder are both coming off All-Patriot League seasons which included 33 goals for Fantoni and a league record 118 groundballs for Snyder.The list includes the top players across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award. The Selection Committee will make additions to the list as the season progresses. In late April, the list will be narrowed to 25, who will earn the distinction of Tewaaarton Nominees before the five finalists will be announced in mid-May. These finalists will be invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, which will take place on May 31, at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Lehigh tied Army, Bucknell and Navy in the Patriot League with two student-athletes on the watch list. Colgate also had one to round out the nine league players recognized.
Fantoni has led the Mountain Hawks in goals each of his first two seasons, scoring 26 as a freshman then 33 as a sophomore. He also dished 14 assists each season and enters his junior campaign with 87 career points. He's also riding a 28-game point streak heading into 2012.
Meanwhile, Snyder has been dominant at the faceoff X ever since taking over full-time duties last season. He won 61.6 percent of his draws (173-of-281) as a sophomore while scooping a Patriot League record 118 groundballs, which was good for fourth nationally in groundballs per game. Snyder has carried the success over to this year when he won 14-of-19 faceoffs last Saturday at Saint Joseph's, along with a career-high 14 groundballs, in an 11-4 victory.
The Mountain Hawks will return home to host their second straight Philadelphia school (Villanova) on Saturday. Faceoff against the 10th-ranked Wildcats is set for 12 p.m. at the Ulrich Sports Complex.
About The Tewaaraton Award
The Tewaaraton Award was formally established in August of 2000 with the inaugural presentation taking place at The University Club of Washington DC in June of 2001. The Tewaaraton Trophy symbolizes lacrosse's centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. Tradition dictates that each year the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and the Tuscarora. To honor the heritage of the sport, the Award presents two annual scholarships to students of American Indian decent. The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the nation's top male and female collegiate lacrosse players and is endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse.
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