Tampa Men's Lacrosse Takes Three Major SSC Awards

WINTER PARK, Fla. - On Tuesday, the Sunshine State Conference announced its 2014 Inaugural All-SSC Men's Lacrosse Team. Tampa's Conor Whipple was selected Player of the Year and Jake Rooney was named Co-Newcomer of the Year. Florida Southern's Grant VanOverbeke was also named Co-Newcomer of the Year. The Spartans' Rory Whipple was named Coach of the Year.

The SSC regular-season champions totaled seven all-conference performers, including three on the first team and four on the second team.

Named to the All-SSC First Team with Whipple (attack) and Rooney (attack) were: attack Dane Sorensen (Florida Southern); midfield CJ Nichols (Florida Tech, Matt Obermeyer (Saint Leo) and Jack Vonarb (Rollins); long-stick midfield David Beaumont (Florida Southern); specialist Will Cothron (Saint Leo) and Alex Petsos (Rollins); defense Trenell Boggans (Florida Southern), Marty Heyn (Tampa) and DJ Lubs (Florida Southern); and goalie Dave Moore (Saint Leo.)

Receiving a spot on the all-conference second team with VanOverbeke (attack) were: attack Cody Dyer (Florida Southern) and Dylan Yonts (Saint Leo); midfield Matt Bilak (Tampa), Chris Murphy (Florida Southern) and Nick Wynne (Florida Tech); long-stick midfield Sean Connolly (Saint Leo); specialist Trevor Calleja (Tampa) and Dan Krispinsky (Florida Southern); defense Mike Cherry (Florida Tech), Dylan D'Airo (Saint Leo) and Larry Gress (Tampa); goalie Andrew Failla (Tampa).

Saint Leo defender Doug Moore and Florida Tech specialist Travis Wunder received honorable mention honors.

A total of 13 players were named to the All-Freshman Team, including Cherry (Florida Tech), Dyer (Florida Southern), Chris D'Angelo (Lynn), Mike Kavanagh (Saint Leo), Brian Kiel (Lynn), Ryan McCarthy (Saint Leo), Connor McClellan (Rollins), Charlie Morrisette (Florida Tech), Nichols (Florida Tech), Nicholas Schultz (Rollins), VanOverbeke (Florida Southern), Vonarb (Rollins) and Whipple (Tampa).

Voting for the All-SSC Men's Lacrosse Team was conducted among the league's men's lacrosse coaches.

A freshman from Tampa, Fla., Whipple led the conference during the regular season with 35 assists (2.33 per game) and 78 points (5.2 per game). He ranked third in the conference with 43 goals (2.87 per game). Whipple recorded at least one goal in every game this season, including 10 games with three or more goals. On March 19, the freshman recorded five goals and six assists in a 21-13 win over Florida Tech. Whipple record four game-winning goals. The attacker was named SSC Offensive Player of the Week four times during the first season.

A sophomore from Orlando, Fla., Rooney led the conference during the regular season with 53 goals (3.53 per game), including four game-winners. He ranked third in total points during the regular season with 61 (4.07 per game). Rooney, like his teammate Whipple, scored at least one goal in every game. He scored three or more goals in nine games, including two seven-goal games and one six-goal game. Rooney was named SSC Offensive Player of the Week once during the regular season.

A freshman from Rosemount, Minn., VanOverbeke ranked second in the conference with 28 assists (2.15 per game) during the regular season. He ranked fourth with 31 goals (2.38 per game) and 59 points (4.53 per game). VanOverbeke also recorded four game-winners during the regular season, and collected a total of six hat tricks. He recorded a season-high eight points with four goals and four assists against UMass-Boston on March 18. VanOverbeke was named SSC Offensive Player of the Week once during the season.

Whipple, in his third season as head coach of the Tampa Spartans, earns the inaugural SSC Coach of the Year award. The Spartans won the first-ever SSC men's lacrosse regular season title in 2014. Whipple led Tampa to a 13-2 regular-season record and a 5-0 record in conference play. The Spartans entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division II poll in just the second week of the season and remained there all year. Currently ranked No. 6, Tampa reached its highest ranking of No. 4 on March 17.

2014 Inaugural All-SSC Men's Lacrosse Team

FIRST TEAM
A - Jake Rooney, Tampa (So.)
A - Dane Sorensen, Florida Southern (Jr.)
A - Conor Whipple, Tampa (Fr.)
M - CJ Nichols, Florida Tech (Fr.)
M - Matt Obermeyer, Saint Leo (Sr.)
M - Jack Vonarb, Rollins (Fr.)
LSM - David Beaumont, Florida Southern (Sr.)
S - Will Cothron, Saint Leo (So.)
S - Alex Petsos, Rollins (So.)
D - Trenell Boggans, Florida Southern (Jr.)
D - Marty Heyn, Tampa (So.)
D - DJ Lubs, Florida Southern (Sr.)
G - Dave Moore, Saint Leo (So.)

Player of the Year - Conor Whipple, Tampa
Co-Newcomer of the Year - Jake Rooney, Tampa
Co-Newcomer of the Year - Grant VanOverbeke, Florida Southern
Coach of the Year - Rory Whipple, Tampa

SECOND TEAM
A - Cody Dyer, Florida Southern (Fr.)
A - Grant VanOverbeke, Florida Southern (Fr.)
A - Dylan Yonts, Saint Leo (So.)
M - Matt Bilak, Tampa (So.)
M - Chris Murphy, Florida Southern (Sr.)
M - Nick Wynne, Florida Tech (So.)
LSM - Sean Connolly, Saint Leo (Jr.)
S - Trevor Calleja, Tampa (Jr.)
S - Dan Krispinsky, Florida Southern (Sr.)
D - Mike Cherry, Florida Tech (Fr.)
D - Dylan D'Airo, Saint Leo (Jr.)
D - Larry Gress, Tampa (Sr.)
G - Andrew Failla, Tampa (So.)

HONORABLE MENTION
D - Doug Moore, Saint Leo (Sr.)
S - Travis Wunder, Florida Tech (Fr.)

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Mike Cherry, Florida Tech (D)
Cody Dyer, Florida Southern (A)
Chris D'Angelo, Lynn (S)
Mike Kavanagh, Saint Leo (LSM)
Brian Kiel, Lynn (A)
Ryan McCarthy, Saint Leo (M)
Connor McClellan, Rollins (D)
Charlie Morrisette, Florida Tech (A)
CJ Nichols, Florida Tech (M)
Nicholas Schultz, Rollins (A)
Grant VanOverbeke, Florida Southern (A)
Jack Vonarb, Rollins (M)
Conor Whipple, Tampa (A)

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