Men’s Lacrosse Receives USILA Team Academic Award; Rizzotti Named Scholar-All-American

By: Justin Lafleur

Story Links

• USILA Release: Team Academic Awards
• USILA Release: Scholar All-Americans

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth men’s lacrosse program was recognized for its success in the classroom last week, as the Big Green received the USILA Team Academic Award, while Peter Rizzotti was named a Scholar All-American. The team award is presented to any program with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, of which Dartmouth men’s lacrosse exceeded with ease. Among multiple criteria, a Scholar All-American must have a senior year academic standing with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, along with being an All-American, member of a North/South team or an outstanding All-League or Conference Player.

As a team, the Big Green posted an outstanding 3.65 GPA this spring. Five student-athletes, including Rizzotti, were recently named to the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (NEILA) All-Academic Team.

Meanwhile, Rizzotti became Dartmouth’s second straight Scholar All-American following George Prince in 2022. The Big Green have featured at least one honoree in three of the last four years (following James Sullivan and Ben Martin in 2020).

Rizzotti leaves Dartmouth as the leader in caused turnovers in a career (64) and season (27 in 2019). He was named to the NEILA All-New England second team following the season; Rizzotti was also an honorable mention All-Ivy honoree as a freshman. For his career, Rizzotti collected 95 groundballs in 36 games (28 starts). He played some of his best lacrosse late in 2023, posting multiple caused turnovers in each of his final seven games of the season (recording 17 in that span). In his final game, Rizzotti tied a career-high four caused turnovers against Brown while scoring a goal for the second straight week. Over his final three games, Rizzotti recorded 12 groundballs and nine caused turnovers in an impressive display.

Also a team captain, Rizzotti left a legacy of leadership, helping the Big Green continue to push the bar forward. Among the highlights were Dartmouth’s most wins (and .500 or better record) since 2008 and an Ivy League opening win over Harvard.