Tuesday, March 24, 2009

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN ZACK GREER NAMED LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD SEMIFINALIST

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Bryant University graduate student Zack Greer (Whitby, Ont.) has been named among the 30 Division I men's lacrosse semifinalists for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, as announced by the award committee earlier this month.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on senior student-athletes who strive to make a difference in their classrooms, their communities and on their field of play. The award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.

A three-time All-American and two-time first team selection, Greer is again a preseason First-Team All-American in his first season with the Bulldogs. Greer, the NCAA's all-time leading goal scorer and a 2009 captain elect, joined the Bulldogs for his final season of eligibility after graduating with an undergraduate degree from Duke University.

A cornerstone of the Bryant offense, Greer has given the Bulldogs added experience and leadership, not to mention a new level of skill that comes with playing four years of Division I lacrosse.

A 2009 National Player of the Year candidate and 2008 finalist for the same, Greer has recorded a nation's-best 29 goals so far this season, bringing his NCAA record to 235 career tallies.

Greer leads the team in all offensive categories, adding a team-best 15 assists and a squad-high 44 points just past the halfway point of the season.

The 2008 Turnbull Award winner as the nation's top attackman, Greer recorded an 11-point outing in Bryant's 22-8 win over Sacred Heart (6 goals, 5 assists) and notched another six-goal game against the University of Detroit Mercy.

Bryant's 11^th-ranked scoring offense is paced by the first-line attackman, who has 29 ground balls (fourth-best on team) on the year for a team that ranks third in the nation, averaging 43.20 per contest.

But to be eligible for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, a student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.

And off the field, Greer has contributed just as much as he has on the field - as a member of the Bryant community, as a dedicated student in pursuance of his Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and as a resource and role model for other Bulldog student-athletes.

"Zack Greer epitomizes all of the essential qualities for which the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award stands," said Bryant Director of Athletics Bill Smith. "He is a standout, not only on the field, but also on the classroom and in the community. He has been a stellar example of what we look for in our Bryant student-athletes and we are proud to have Zack as a member of our Bulldog family."

Greer showed the ultimate act of loyalty at the end of the 2008 season, proving his true character when he forwent the MLL and NLL drafts to spend his extra season of eligibility - granted by the NCAA to members of the 2006 Duke lacrosse team - giving back to the coach who gave him an opportunity at Duke, current Bulldog head coach Mike Pressler.

"In all my years of coaching, I couldn't pick a more fitting candidate for one of the most prestigious awards in the NCAA," said Pressler, who recruiting and coached Greer for two seasons at Duke and is now in his third year at Bryant. "Zack has represented Bryant University with class and dignity since the first day he arrived."

An MBA student in Bryant's Graduate School of Business, Greer earned his undergraduate degree in sociology with a certificate in MMS studies from Duke in 2008, being selected as a Duke and ACC honor roll student as a senior as well as earning Duke's male senior student-athlete of the year award. Greer will graduate from Bryant in August.

The list of 30 student-athletes will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot. The ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the "Four C's" of Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition.

The award winner will be announced and presented with his trophy at the 2009 NCAA® Men's Lacrosse Championship in Foxborough, Mass.

To see Greer's Bryant University athletics bio, click here.
To see Greer's Lowe's Senior CLASS Award nomination, click here.
To see a complete list of the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Men's Lacrosse Candidates, click here.