ROCHESTER, NY -- Six members of the RIT men's lacrosse team haven been selected to the 2009 Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse All-Conference team.
Dan MacRae (Oakville, ON/Holy Trinity) and M.J. Kiekebelt (Caledon, ON/St. Andrews College-Aurora) were first team selections.
Iric Bressler (Stafford, VA/North Stafford) and
Adam Lehmann (Rochester, NY/McQuaid) were second-team selection and
Chris Cherami (Olwick, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) was an honorable mention pick. Senior,
Billy Walton (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) was RIT's Sportsperson of the Year.
MacRae, a junior transfer, led RIT with 89 ground balls and 46 caused turnovers. He also had a goal and two assists on the season from his close defense position. MacRae totaled 36 ground balls in Empire 8 play and was a first team All-New York State All Star Team.
Kiekebelt led all Empire 8 long-stick midfielders with 40 ground balls in conference play. He finished third on the team with 69 ground balls and scored one goal. Kiekebelt, a sophomore, went 6-for-10 at the face-off "x" and was a first team All-New York State All Star Team.
Bressler was a second team selection for the second straight season. Bressler led RIT with 37 points on 18 goals and 19 assists this season and was tied for eighth in the Empire 8 in assists per game, averaging 1.27 per game.
Lehmann emerged as one of the top midfielders in the conference in 2009. He was tied for the team-lead in goals with 20, finishing with 23 points. He was 112-109 on face-offs, winning 50.6% of his draws. Lehmann had a season-high five goals versus Scranton University on March 11 and finished second in ground balls with 72 was a second team All-New York State All Star Team.
Cherami finished the season with 17 points on 15 goals and two assists. He scored two game-winning goals and grabbed 23 ground balls, playing in 16 games.
Walton had career-highs in points (16) and goals (14) in 2009. He played both attack and midfield and had 23 ground balls.
RIT finished the 2009 season with a 10-6 record. The Tigers finished in a tied for fourth in the Empire 8 standings with a 5-3 conference record.