March 9, 2010
Center Valley, Pa.—Six Patriot League men’s lacrosse student-athletes have been named to the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy watch list. The list is made up of the top lacrosse players across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse and are the early hopefuls for the 2010 Tewaaraton Trophy. The Tewaaraton Award was formally established in August of 2000 and is the pre-eminent lacrosse award, which is given annually to the NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse player of the year. Named to the list were Army’s Bill Henderson and Tom Palesky, Bucknell’s Austin Winter, Lafayette’s Tom Perini and Navy’s Tim Paul and Matt Vernam.
A First-Team All-Patriot League honoree as a sophomore, Henderson was voted a team captain for 2010 to mark the first time in program history an underclassman held the position. A starter in all 16 games a year ago, Henderson has also listed in the starting lineup for each of the Black Knights' four games of the 2010 campaign, anchoring the Army defensive front.
Palesky finished 10th nationally and led the Patriot League with a .591 save percentage while also leading the conference with 12.75 saves per game and finishing second with an 8.89 goals against average in 2009. Credited with double-digit save totals in 13 of 16 contests, his 204 saves was the third-highest single-season total in Academy history. This season, Palesky has played every minute in goal for Army and registered a 21-save performance on Feb. 28 against two-time defending national champion Syracuse to garner Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week recognition.
Winter was a preseason All-American honorable mention selection after being named to the All-Patriot League First Team for the third consecutive season last year. Winter has 101 career assists, a total that ranks sixth on the Patriot League career charts. Last season Winter became the fifth two-time All-American in school history. A third All-American selection would make him the first three-time honoree in program history.
Perini leads the Leopard attack with 16 goals and three assists. The junior registered a seven-goal effort in Lafayette's 14-9 win over Penn Wednesday night. Perini has helped the 4-0 Leopards to their best start since 1979. Perini led the nation in goals per game last season, averaging three goals per game in the Leopards' 13 contests. In November, he was also named to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America list.
Vernam has started all five games for Navy this season, causing one turnover and scooping up five ground balls. A sophomore defender, Vernam started each of the Mids’ final 12 games during his freshman campaign, helping Navy win the 2009 Patriot League Championship. Vernam aided a Navy squad that led the nation in man-down defense and ranked seventh in scoring defense.
Paul played in two games this season, scoring four points before going down with an injury. He was an honorable mention All-American as a junior last season. Paul registered 18 points and 14 assists, giving him a team-best 32 points.
In all, 64 student-athletes were named to the list. The award will be presented on June 3 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
