MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's lacrosse team had six student-athletes earn All-Conference recognition. The Panthers earned four on the First Team, one on the Second Team and one on the Third Team. Additionally, Florida Tech won two major awards including the SSC Defensive Player of the Year and SSC Coaching Staff of the Year.

Jax Francisco, a redshirt senior from Westminster, Maryland, is the first player in program history to be named Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Francisco was named to the First Team after a season where he led the SSC with 172 saves and a 12.29 saves per game. Francisco's historic season includes four SSC Defensive Player of the Week awards, being named to the USILA Team of the Week and becoming the Sunshine State Conference's all-time leader in saves. 
 
Steve Ulrichs, a redshirt senior from Richmond, Virginia, was named to the First Team after landing on the Third Team a year ago. This season, Ulrichs was second in the SSC with 2.21 caused turnovers per game and was seventh with 3.50 ground balls per game. He set a career-high of 31 caused turnovers while he added three long pole goals. Ulrichs was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season and earned national recognition as he was named to the USILA Team of the Week three times. 
 
Thomas Strong, a senior from Ellicott City, Maryland, was named to the SSC First Team after leading the Panthers with 27 goals. The 6'4 offensive force set a career-high in goals and points. Strong was named to the USILA Team of the Week for his career-high performance of four goals against RV Belmont Abbey. Additionally, he had nine multi-goal games including four games with three or more goals.
 
Brooks van Esselstyn, a junior from Bluffton, South Carolina, joins Francisco, Ulrichs and Strong on the SSC First Team as a defensive midfielder. Van Esselstyn set multiple career-high's including 20 goals, seven assists, 27 points, 27 ground balls and nine caused turnovers. This season he had eight multi-goal games and was crucial in transition.  
 
Joe Coveleski, a junior from Lewes, Delaware, lands on the Second Team after setting a career-high with 12 assists and 14 ground balls. He added 15 goals and had one in 12 out of 14 games. Coveleski had four multi-assist games and had a five-point game against Lynn where he had a hat trick and two assists. 
 
Garrett Gmeiner, a redshirt senior from Sykesville, Maryland, was the final Panther named to the All-Conference teams and was named to the Third Team for the second consecutive year. Gmeiner picked up a career-high 24 ground balls and tied a career-high of 12 caused turnovers. He had two games this season where he had five ground balls and a caused turnover in the same game.
 
The final award was given to Brad MacArthur, Zach Wynne and Chris Hawley as they earned the SSC Coaching Staff of the Year award for the first time in program history. The trio has led the guided the Panthers to their highest ranking in program history, their second most wins in a season in program history and their highest ranked win in program history against No. 4 Wingate.
 
The Panthers will return to the field on Wednesday, Apr. 22 as they take on the third-seeded Saint Leo Lions in the SSC Semifinals at Rick Stottler Field.