The South Atlantic Conference Announces Men's Lacrosse Annual Awards

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Lenoir-Rhyne attacker Mike Hanlon was voted the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year, while teammate Eric Dickinson was voted the League's Freshman of the Year.  In addition, Bears' mentor Greg Paradine was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.

Hanlon, a senior forward from Haymarket, Va., has totaled 31 goals, a team-leading 31 assists and 62 total points this season for the Bears.  A two-time All-South Atlantic Conference First-Team honoree, Hanlon is the Bears' all-time leading scorer with 189 points.  Hanlon cashed in on eight contests with multiple goals, while posting multiple assists in nine contests.  He highlighted his season on March 4 as he scored seven times and posted four assists in a win over League-foe Coker.

Dickinson, a midfielder from Charlotte, N.C., finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the League with a Lenoir-Rhyne single-season best 47 goals and 64 points.  He is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation with 3.58 goals per game.  His 4.83 points per game is currently good for No. 5 in Division II as well.  Dickinson also found the net nine times on individual man-up opportunities to pace at No. 1 in the country.  He scored in double-digits in all but one of Lenoir-Rhyne's matches this season, including a pair of games with six markers.  He posted multiple assists in four matches this season and closed out the year with 17 total assists.

Paradine earns his second career coach of the year honor after guiding his squad to a 12-1 record overall and an undefeated mark of 8-0 in League play.  His Bears are currently ranked No. 5 in the country as Lenoir-Rhyne won its second-straight and third overall South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship.  The Bears scored on 48 percent of its man-up opportunities to rank No. 2 in the country and closed out the regular season ranked No. 8 in the nation with 13.83 goals per game.  Lenoir-Rhyne is currently riding a 12-game winning streak heading into the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship as the No. 1 seed.

The first team attackers were Hanlon, Austin Murphy from Wingate and Dickinson of Lenoir-Rhyne.  Lenoir-Rhyne's Ben Corrigan, Nate Wade of Tusulum and Daniel Godwin of Wingate earned first team midfielder honors.

On the defensive side, Collin Lett from Lenoir-Rhyne was named the first team long pole midfielder, while Jacob O'Conner of Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate's Drew Thompson and Anthony Crisera collected first team defender honors.  Will Sheridan from Wingate was tabbed the first team goalkeeper and Lenoir-Rhyne's Shane Gottberg was voted the first team specialist.

2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Yearly Honors

First Team
A – Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Austin Murphy, Wingate
A – Eric Dickinson, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Ben Corrigan, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Nate Wade, Tusculum
MF – Daniel Godwin, Wingate
D – Drew Thompson, Wingate
D – Jacob O'Connor, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Anthony Crisera, Wingate
LP – Collin Lett, Lenoir-Rhyne
Spec. – Shane Gottberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Will Sheridan, Wingate

Second Team
A – Ben Boyd, Tusculum
A – Kyle Arcuri, Lincoln Memorial
A – Justin Swick, Queens
MF – Alex Llerandi, Wingate
MF – Adam Golia, Lincoln Memorial
MF – Billy Kopsky, Lincoln Memorial
D – Ross Parsons, Tusculum
D – Chris Gazzio, Wingate
D – Ryan Benck, Lincoln Memorial
LP – Griffin Stechmiller, Queens
Spec. – Jonathan Paige, Queens
GK – Kevin Haggerty, Tusculum

Honorable Mention
A – Jeremy Sullivan, Wingate
A – Dima Ferreira, Mars Hill
A – Dalton Cook, Catawba
MF – Dallas Wade, Tusculum
MF – Alex Lipsky, Mars Hill
MF – Robert Tucker, Lincoln Memorial (T)
MF – Ryan Vogrig, Wingate (T)
D – Ryon Bellamy, Queens
D – Nick Rizzieri, Queens
D – Asych Schildt, Mars Hill
D – Julian Maxey, Catawba
LP – Tyler Antram, Wingate
Spec. – Vinny Aiello, Wingate
GK – Ryan Crompton, Lenoir-Rhyne

Player of the Year
Mike Hanlon, Lenoir-Rhyne

Freshman of the Year
Eric Dickinson, Lenoir-Rhyne

Coach of the Year
Greg Paradine, Lenoir-Rhyne

Team Scoring Offense – Tusculum (14.83)
Team Scoring Defense – Wingate (6.77)
Team Scoring Margin – Tusculum (6.0)
Team Man-Up Offense – Lenoir-Rhyne (.476)
Team Man-Down Defense – Tusculum (.800)
Team Faceoff Win Percentage – Queens (.677)
Team Shot Percentage – Brevard (.367)
Team Ground Balls per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (37.58)