University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC's Ryan Flanagan Earns Co-National Defenseman of the Year Honors
May 28, 2010 | Men's Lacrosse
May 28, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Ryan Flanagan, a junior defenseman on the University of North Carolina's 2010 men's lacrosse team, has been named the co-winner of the William C. Schmeisser Award as the outstanding defensive player in NCAA Division I. Flanagan shared the award with senior Ken Clausen of the University of Virginia.
Flanagan, a West Islip, N.Y. native who Thursday was named a first-team All-America, is the first Tar Heel to win the Schmeisser Award since 1991 when Graham Harden won the award. He is the first UNC player to win any of the five major U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association honors since 1996 when Jason Wade was the co-winner of the Lt. Donald McLaughlin Jr. Award as the outstanding midfielder.
Flanagan, who led the Tar Heels in caused turnovers and ranked second in ground balls, started all 16 games for UNC in 2010. He helped lead the Tar Heels to a 13-3 record and a final national ranking of No. 4 by the USILA. That's the highest USILA ranking for a Tar Heel team since the 1996 team was ranked second.
This is the fifth time in history a UNC player has captured the Schmeisser Award. Tom Haus won it in 1984, 1986 and 1987 in addition to Harden in 1991 and Flanagan in 2010.
A complete list of this year's top USILA awards for 2010 follows:
2010 USILA Special Awards
*Lt. Donald McLaughlin Jr. Award-Outstanding Midfielder
Division I:
Joel White
Syracuse University
*Lt. Col. J .I. Turnbull Award - Outstanding Attackman
Division I:
Robert Pannell
Cornell University
*Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr Award - Outstanding Goalie
Divison I:
John Galloway
Syracuse University
*William C. Schmeisser Award - Outstanding Defensive Player
Division I:
Ryan Flanagan
University of North Carolina
Ken Clausen
University of Virginia
*Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award - Outstanding Player
Division I:
Kevin Crowley
Stony Brook University
