CLEVELAND, Ohio – Seniors Isaac Atencio and Danny Tesler of the Cleveland State University lacrosse team were both named Scholar All-Americans in an announcement made by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Friday afternoon.

The duo's selections mark the first in program history for a Viking program that produced its first full senior class in 2020.

"It's fitting that these two end their careers as the first Scholar All-Americans in program history," head coach Andy German said. "From day one, they did everything right and held themselves and their teammates to the highest of standards, both on and off the field. This award recognizes their efforts and is a perfect end to outstanding careers."

Atencio and Tesler were serving as co-captains during the interrupted 2020 season and were in their second and third years in that role, respectively. Both Vikings were instrumental in helping build the program from the ground up, as it transitioned from a fledging, first-year program in their freshmen seasons into a unit that procured its first-ever win over a nationally ranked program this spring.

Atencio graduated cum laude from Cleveland State with a degree in social studies in May. He played in 47 of a possible 50 games on the defensive end over his career. He is tied for the most caused turnovers in program history (37) and is also among the top five in career ground balls (70). He was off to a strong start before his final season ended prematurely as he led the team with nine caused turnovers and had tallied 13 ground balls in the first seven games of 2020.

Tesler graduated summa cum laude from Cleveland State with a degree in public safety management in May. He played in 47 games as a faceoff specialist. His 478 faceoff wins and 265 ground balls not only easily top CSU's charts, but both totals were also among the top 10 for active Division I players when the season came to a halt. Tesler won faceoffs at a 56.7% clip in his career, including a 62.2% mark over his final two seasons. He added 16 goals and eight assists as a Viking.

Cleveland State was one of 26 Division I schools to have multiple Scholar All-Americans selected this season.

In 1989 the USILA Scholar All-America program was established to recognize student-athletes from USILA member institutions who have distinguished themselves academically, athletically and as citizens of their communities. Each individual nominated is evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Scholar All-America committee. The Scholar All-Americans have been customarily recognized at the annual lacrosse All-America banquet.

A Scholar All-American must be nominated by his coach and be a student with a senior-year academic standing and a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). He must have behaved in a manner that brought credit to himself, his institution and to college lacrosse both on and off the field. He must also be an All-American, a member of the North/South All-Star team or an outstanding league or conference player.