Men's Lacrosse

Hawks Land Two on Conference First Team; Hughes Tabbed Rookie of the Year

ROCHESTER, NY - The Empire 8 announced its 2010 Men's Lacrosse All-Conference teams as well as its Player, Rookie, and Coach of the Year awards on Tuesday.

Hartwick freshman Harry Hughes (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East) earned Empire 8 Rookie of the Year honors and senior Kevin Miller (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) and junior Dave Aitchison (Farmingdale, NY/N. Massapequa) were selected to the First Team. Ryan Twardowski (Emmaus, PA.S. Lehigh) was Hartwick's representative on the E8 Sportsman of the Year team. The Hawks' two first team picks is third-most in the league behind RIT's four selections and Nazareth's three.

Hughes becomes the second Hartwick player to win the conference's top rookie award in the last three seasons after Vito DeMola took the honors in 2008. Hughes netted 13 goals in eight conference games this season, more than any other freshman in the conference. He closed out the year with a team-best 30 goals and added one assist for 31 points. He scored in 13 of 14 games this season for the Hawks and recorded three or more goals in five games. He netted a career-high four goals in a 13-7 win over Oneonta State on April 27th.

Miller, a second-team defenseman last year, earns first-team honors for the first time. He picked up a conference-best 34 ground balls in Empire 8 play this season. Miller finished the year with a team-high 57 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers (2nd on team). He also contributed one goal against Nazareth. Miller grabbed 20 ground balls and caused 17 turnovers in Hartwick's final four games, helping to lead the Hawks to three wins. Over the course of his four-year career with 'Wick, Miller has accumulated 148 ground balls and 72 caused turnovers.

Aitchison earned first-team honors for the first time, finishing the season with 63 points with 29 goals and 34 assists. Aitchison's 63 points is the 10th-highest single-season point total in the history of the men's lacrosse program. Currently, he ranks 9th in the country in assists per game, averaging 2.43 per outing. He led all players with 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) in conference play, averaging 5.12 points per contest. Aitchison notched at least one assist in every game this season and twice registered seven points in a game. He recorded a goal and a career-high six helpers against Stevens on April 7th and scored a career-best five goals and two assists versus Elmira 10 days later.

Twardowski was Hartwick's representative on the E8 Sportsman of the Year Team for consistently maintaining a high level of sportsmanship and fair play throughout the 2010 campaign. Twardowski made 142 saves in over 820 minutes between the pipes for the Hawks. He was named the E8 Goalie of the Week on March 15th after he held Scranton scoreless for the first 27 minutes and made 10 saves in a 9-6 win at Wright Stadium.