Cornell Midfielder Max Seibald Wins 2009 Men’s Lacrosse Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award

May 23, 2009

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(Boston, MA) – Cornell University midfielder Max Seibald, a four-time All-American who is an exemplary student and donated countless hours to community service projects, has been selected as the winner of the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the men’s lacrosse division. 

  The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of coaches, media and fans, is presented annually to college lacrosse’s outstanding NCAA Division I senior student-athlete.  The announcement and trophy presentation were made today by Lowe’s, an Official NCAA Corporate Partner, during the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award has grown into the nation’s premier tribute to college seniors.  The award identifies personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, with criteria including excellence in the classroom, in character and community service, as well as in competition on the field.

“It’s really exciting to win the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, especially considering the outstanding group of great student-athletes who were nominated,” Seibald said.  “It’s a group of guys who not only excel on the field, but in the classroom, have great character and are involved in the community. I think it speaks volumes about the coaching staff and my teammates, because they are the ones that showed me the way. Through the years, I just tried to follow in the path of the people who taught me what to do on the field and off the field, to not only be a good player, but to be a better person.”

Seibald will leave Cornell as one of the greatest lacrosse players in school history. The first men’s lacrosse player in Ivy League history to earn first-team All-Ivy honors four times during his career, Seibald was a unanimous first-team choice for his final three seasons. Just the third, four-time All-American in Cornell history, he has racked up 137 career points, the most ever by a Big Red midfielder. One of the most consistent players in the country, Seibald has tallied at least one point in 57 of his 60 career games.

While his lacrosse career at Cornell has gained Seibald headlines, it’s his tireless work as a student and in the local community that has made him the nation’s top choice for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.  He will graduate from Cornell with a Bachelor of Arts degree in applied economics and management and holds a cumulative grade point average of 3.22, while consistently taking some of the hardest classes in his major.

Seibald is involved in many community service projects, typically taking up the leadership mantel, and he often recruits his teammates to participate and inspires them to give their time as well. The projects he is involved with encompass a variety of events and fundraisers, including Save the Day, The 21 Run, Big Red Readers, Daffodil Days, and Sphinx Head Honor Society.  As an example of the “giving back” attitude he displays, Seibald has taken the lead in the “Save the Day” program, serving as co-coordinator the past two years. The program is a joint effort between the Cornell men’s lacrosse team and the Dream Factory of Central, N.Y., to raise money to grant the wishes of chronically and critically ill children.

“It’s been an honor to have coached Max Seibald over the last four years,” said Jeff Tambroni, head men’s lacrosse coach at Cornell.  “I feel that it is very symbolic that he finishes his career as this year’s Lowe’s Senior Class Award winner. For the past four years, Max has performed at such a high and consistent level on the playing field.  However, it is his accomplishments in the classroom, in the Ithaca community, and in our locker room, the contributions that most people haven’t seen, that will define Max as a young man. Winning this award is obviously an amazing honor for Max and our program. Our staff could not be more proud of his contributions and accomplishments throughout his career.” 

The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award also names an All-Senior All-America Team each year based on voting results of the finalists.  Joining Seibald on the 2009 First Team is:  Matt Abbott, Syracuse University; Jordan Burke, Brown University; Michael Colleluori, Hofstra University and Andy Tormey, U.S. Naval Academy. The second team includes Brandon Corp, Colgate University; Joel Dalgarno, Ohio State; Danny Glading, University of Virginia; Ryan Hoff, University of Notre Dame and Grant Zimmerman, University of North Carolina.

This marks the third year for the men’s lacrosse division of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.  Cornell’s Matt McMonagle was the inaugural winner in 2007 and Syracuse’s Mike Leveille was the recipient in 2008.

“The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award has developed into a wonderful tribute for college student-athletes,” said Bob Gfeller, senior vice president of marketing at Lowe’s. “On behalf of more than 228,000 associates at Lowe’s, we salute Max for a tremendous collegiate career at Cornell.  He has been a role model for many youngsters and has clearly taken his status as a college student-athlete and used it to benefit others.”

Lowe’s expanded the Senior CLASS Award program in 2007 to include NCAA Division I men’s and women’s soccer, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, baseball and softball in addition to men’s and women’s basketball.  With the addition of football (Bowl Subdivision) in 2008, the award is now presented in nine NCAA sports. 

Lacrosse 2009 Winner

Name Position School
Max Seibald Midfield Cornell University

First Team

Name Position School
Matt Abbott Midfield Syracuse University
Jordan Burke Goalie Brown
Michael Colleluori Midfielder Hofstra University
Andy Tormey Defense United States Naval Academy

Second Team

Name Position School
Brandon Corp Midfield Colgate University
Joel Dalgarno Attack Ohio State University
Danny Glading Attack Virginia
Ryan Hoff Attack University of Notre Dame
Grant Zimmerman Goalkeeper University of North Carolina