Posted on 05/30/2010 8:09:02 PM PDT by DBCJR
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army senior captain Andrew Maisano was named the winner of the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the lacrosse division, Saturday afternoon. Maisano received the award during an on-field ceremony at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore held at halftime of the first NCAA Tournament semifinal between Cornell and Notre Dame.
Emerging from a list of 10 finalists after a poll of national media and coaches, as well as a national fan vote held last month, Maisano became the first Black Knight to ever win the award in any sport, which recognizes student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
"I am humbled to receive an honor like this, especially in a field of such worthy candidates," commented Maisano, who hails from Lakeview, N.Y. "It is a testament to all the guys on the team that were always there to push me to be the best I could on the field, in the classroom and in everything else we did at West Point. While my name might be on the award, I could not have done this without my teammates."
Maisano graduated 26th in the USMA Class of 2010 last Saturday with over a 4.0 grade point average while majoring in Systems Engineering. Voted the 2010 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Scholar Athlete of the Year and a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree last week, Maisano has also moved on to the national ballot where he will be eligible for Academic All-America honors later this month.
"I am so pleased for Andrew that he is receiving this prestigious award. He is very deserving," said Army head coach Joe Alberici. "He has represented himself, his family, this program and this tremendous institution in a first class manner. He is an outstanding role model for all of us in the Army Lacrosse Family."
Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Maisano also recently received his fourth Superintendent's Award for Excellence, recognizing the top-five percent of cadets based on the combination of academic, military and physical GPAs. Soon to be a four-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection, Maisano also landed on the Dean's List for the eighth time during his decorated West Point career. A member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Golden Key Honor Society, he is also a member of the Society of American Military Engineers.
Maisano sat on the Brigade Chain of Command during his senior year, serving as the chair of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and was also a company tutor who worked with underclass cadets on their studies. Last summer, he interned at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in San Diego, Calif., assisting the program managers and engineers, before returning to West Point to help teach combatives at the USMA Prep School during the summer training period.
A volunteer at the Saint Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen in his native Buffalo, N.Y., he also volunteered at the USA Lacrosse Clinic last fall as well as the Army Youth Lacrosse clinic during the winter for the past two years. As part of his senior studies, Maisano worked on a research and design project for the FAA to develop a commercial wind turbine that is an alternative energy resource while minimizing radar interference.
One of the Black Knights' starting midfielders for two-straight seasons, Maisano and the Black Knights were crowned 2010 Patriot League Champions before making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2005 where they upset two-time defending national champion Syracuse in the opening round to move on to the national quarterfinals.
After starting the season with a 1-4 record, Army rattled off wins in nine of its next 10 games, including the programs' first-ever undefeated 6-0 Patriot League mark, on its way to the program's ninth overall conference championship. The Black Knights had their eight-game winning streak snapped in the quarterfinals with a 14-5 loss to Cornell in a game played at Stony Brook.
After finishing the 2009 season with a 6-10 record, Army bounced back to finish with an 11-5 record that was one victory short of the school-record 12 wins compiled by the 1993 squad.
Maisano's on-field award presentation will be aired on ESPN during a full in-game feature to be broadcast during halftime of Monday's national championship game. It will also be included during an NCAA spring sports highlight show that will airs on CBS at some point after the season.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in SchoolTM, the Lowe's 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.
Too bad your boy lost
First new lax champion tomorrow since Princeton in 1992. Duke v Notre Dame.
Is Maisano a paisano?
They were both very good candidates. Glad to see it go to one of them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.