Senior CLASS Award Release

SCHENECTADY, N.Y.-Union College men's ice hockey senior forward Theo Di Pauli von Treuheim has been selected as a candidate for the 2015-16 men's hockey Senior CLASS Award. Di Pauli von Treuheim is the fifth Dutchmen to be nominated for the award and the third in as many years.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the 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. 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.

Di Pauli von Treuheim, who was the 2014-15 Union Athletics Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, has received the team's Thomas Van Arden Award for the highest grade point average in each of his previous three seasons. A two-time ECAC Hockey All-Academic honoree, he received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, Tau Beta Pi's Engineering Scholarship, the four-year Michael R. Novack Scholarship, the NSF-REU Fellowship Grant and is also a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship.

The Downers Grove, Ill. native is the co-founder of the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorder at Albany Medical. He visited and established a friendship with terminally ill children prior to home games and invited them to meet the team after the games. As a role model for Hockey in Harlem, he inspires young, underprivileged inner-city youth hockey players to pursue an education and sport-focused lifestyle.

The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Final Four in April.

Union College Men's Hockey Senior CLASS Award Nominees