Oneonta's Hnis Attains USILA All-American Honors
Oneonta Sports Information Department
ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Oneonta men's lacrosse junior Thomas Hnis (Smithtown, N.Y./Kings Park) ended his exceptional season by receiving All-American honors by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), Wednesday afternoon. Hnis earned honorable mention honors to become the eighth Red Dragon in program history to be named USILA All-American. He joined William Tremont ('99), Brian Dooley ('99 and '00), Matt Puerta ('02), Mike Louer ('02 and '04), Luke Rabideau ('03), Jim van de Veerdonk ('12 and '13), and senior Jamie O'Neil (Bath, N.Y./Haverling) ('25) in the program's All-Time USILA All-American list.
"Tom was undeniable this year," said Head Coach Pete Owens. "He's grown so much as a player and as a person, I'm so proud of him, and so happy for him. He deserves this honor."
Hnis led the charge offensively for Oneonta, scoring a single-season program record 71 goals, for another program record of 3.94 per game in the 18 games he started at attack. He added 23 assists along the way to end the year with the team-high 94 points, which was the second most in the conference when Oneonta's season concluded. With just the Division III Championship game left, Hnis is tied for the sixth most goals scored in Division III, while he is ranked ninth in goals per game. Points wise, the Smithtown, N.Y.-native is placed 21st nationally in points per game (5.22) and tied for 22nd in total points.
The All-SUNYAC first teamer totaled 11 man-up goals for the Red Dragons this year and recorded two game-winning goals. Hnis' first game-winner was scored with one second left for a 14-13 non-conference win against Brockport, then, in the SUNYAC semifinals, he scored in overtime to help Oneonta defeat Potsdam, 13-12, and advance to the conference championship. He also finished the season with 39 ground balls, while causing two turnovers.
In addition to the single season goals and goals per game program records, Hnis will enter his senior year already as Oneonta's career man-up goals leader with 26. He is currently second in career goals (173), which is only four away from O'Neil's record, and he is second in program history with 228 career points. Hnis is on pace to finish as the Red Dragons leader in career goals per game (currently 3.39) and second in points per game (currently 4.47).
The Red Dragons finished this season with a record of 10-8 overall and 6-1 in SUNYAC play to clinch the two seed in the conference tournament, where they made it to the championship game for the second straight season. Oneonta had seven individuals named All-Conference, three to the All-Tournament team, a SUNYAC Elite 20 winner, and a USILA All-American. The Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) has yet to announce their All-Region honorees.
