University of North Carolina Athletics
Sonke, Maher Named to 2000 USILA All-America Team
May 29, 2000 | Men's Lacrosse
May 29, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Junior attackman Jeff Sonke and senior defenseman Todd Maher of the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team were named Monday to the 2000 STX/U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-America Team. Sonke, a native of Birmingham, Mich., was named as a second-team attackman, while Maher, a Towson, Md. native, was named to the honorable mention squad on defense.
Sonke, who led the Tar Heels in scoring with 49 points in 2000, became the first Tar Heel men's lacrosse player since 1996 to be named to one of the first three USILA Teams. In 1996, midfielders Jude Collins and Jason Wade were first team and defenseman Peter Murphy was second team. This season Sonke started all 13 games he played in for Carolina, missing the Ohio State game because of injury. He led UNC with 33 goals and he was third in the team with 16 assists, while leading the Heels in scoring with 49 points.
Maher capped a brilliant UNC defensive career by starting all 14 games for the Tar Heels this year. In fact Maher started the last 50 games of his Carolina career in succession. This year he had 57 ground balls and 45 defensive takeaways. A 3.6 honor student in the School of Business Administration at UNC, he finished third in career defensive takeaways at Carolina with 179.
The two Carolina players were instrumental in leading the Tar Heels to an 8-6 record in 2000, the squad's first winning season since the 1996 team went 12-5.
