Buckeyes' Kawamoto Named a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Candidate; Schuss on Tewaaraton Watch List
(Courtesy of Ohio State Athletic Communications)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State defenseman Matt Kawamoto is one of 20 candidates for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Wednesday. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Springfield, Va., native Kawamoto is a men's lacrosse team captain for the Buckeyes this year. The 2011 Eastern College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection, he also earned honorable mention USILA All-America accolades last season. Entering the 2012 campaign, he was named a third team preseason All-American by Faceoff Yearbook and preseason All-ECAC. He has played in 47 games at Ohio State and has 63 groundballs and 29 caused turnovers. A business: marketing and logistics management major, Kawamoto has earned Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honors and is scheduled to graduate this spring. The recipient of the 2011-12 Michael R. Breschi Memorial Scholarship, Kawamoto has battled back from injury twice in his Buckeye career. For Kawamoto’s complete award biography, visit seniorclassaward.com/athletes/matt_kawamoto/
Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, which will be held May 26 and 28 in Boston.
The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, Division I men’s coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
In addition, Buckeye junior attack Logan Schuss has been named to the watch list for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award. The list includes the top players across all three divisions of collegiate lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award.
Schuss, a Ladner, British Columbia, native, is a two-time first team All-ECAC selection and was an honorable mention USILA All-American as a freshman in 2010. In 2011, Schuss ranked 13th nationally with 3.12 points per game, leading the Buckeyes with 52 points. The junior, who has at least one point in each collegiate game, is an Academic All-Big Ten, OSU Scholar-Athlete and ECAC All-Academic Team selection. He had nine points in the Buckeyes’ first two games of 2012 and now has 117 points, with 68 goals and 49 assists, in 32 career games to rank 22nd in program history.
The watch list was generated by the award’s selection committee, which is made up of collegiate coaches and is appointed each year by the Tewaaraton Award. The selection committee will make additions to the list as the season progresses. In late April, the list will be narrowed to 25, who will be named Tewaaraton Nominees. In mid-May, five finalists will be announced. The finalists will be invited to the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, held May 31 at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
For more information, visit http://www.tewaaraton.com/
This Week: Kawamoto, Schuss and the Buckeyes, 2-0 on the year, open ECAC Lacrosse League play at 1 p.m. Sunday when they face No. 5 Denver (0-0) in the Moe’s Southwest Grill Classic at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. The game, part of a doubleheader with Jacksonville and Navy meeting in game two, will be televised live by NBC Sports Network.
