By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations  While the Lehigh men's lacrosse program has high standards on the field, the Mountain Hawks have just as high a standard in the classroom.  The success is showing.  In the fall, Lehigh posted its third straight semester with a team GPA over 3.0. A culture of success has developed within the program, going far beyond success on the lacrosse field.Junior Casey Eidenshink: 3.38 GPAÂ
"We definitely have a good academic culture within our team," said junior Casey Eidenshink, who owns a 3.38 cumulative GPA as an Accounting major. "I'm always studying. With registration coming up, we're always trying to get classes together which really helps. It helps to study and get work done with guys on the team who have similar schedules. I'm always with a group of guys studying or getting a project done. Just like playing lacrosse, it's a team effort academically."  Eidenshink is one of three Mountain Hawks on the team's Academic Council, which was created three years ago as an additional resource to promote success in the classroom.  "The Academic Council came about to serve as a mechanism of support and accountability towards academics in the program," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "Like anything else, the best leadership in a team setting comes from within, and this is a method of getting strong leadership in a critical component of student-athlete life. The council reports directly to Coach (Errol) Wilson, who serves as our men's lacrosse staff academic liaison. Coach Wilson reports directly to me and Katie Guynn, our Director of Academic Support Services. The council's responsibilities include: helping teammates with course selection, class schedules, time management, study skills and overall team academic progress."  Sophomore Cody Triolo and senior Klay Heston join Eidenshink on the council, which helps govern academic success within the program. They do everything from checking study hall sign-in sheets to reminding teammates about weekly progress reports and much more.Sophomore Cody Triolo: 3.96 GPAÂ
Ultimately, Coach Cassese preaches dominating all areas of the student-athlete life, but it's the players who have to take accountability, and they have. The results are evident.  "If you're coming in and you're seeing the standard the older guys are setting in terms of how hard they're working academically, you jump on that boat really quickly," said Triolo who sports a 3.96 cumulative GPA in Civil Engineering.  The Mountain Hawks placed 18 members on last year's Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, which was second most in the league. Lehigh also featured Ty Souders, who was named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team for a third straight season.  Everyone is different, but Lehigh Lacrosse's goal isn't to just have a few players "carry" the team GPA, but rather make academic success contagious and raise everyone's collective performance in the classroom. A big reason for the success is team chemistry that's naturally in place.  "We have a lot of hard-working guys on the field and they bring that work ethic with them off the field, too," said freshman goalie and Business major Adam Sawicki, who tallied a 4.0 GPA in his first semester at Lehigh. "Every time you go in the library, you see guys from the team there. You sit with them, study with them. They're looking to excel in all areas."  "The ability to support your teammates is a concept we talk a lot about in our program," said Cassese. "That support comes in many shapes and sizes. It can come in the form of a simple pat on the back when someone does the right thing or a kick in the rear when someone doesn't. If the team chemistry is where it needs to be, all forms of support are given and taken in stride, knowing that whatever a teammate says or does, it's done with the best interest of the team and the individual."Freshman Adam Sawicki: 4.0 GPAÂ
Mastering time management usually leads to success in the classroom. Eidenshink admits to initially being overwhelmed with the rigors of a prestigious institution like Lehigh, so he can relate to what the freshmen go through.  "I was definitely a little overwhelmed and stressed out my first two semesters, but with that being said, I think I did pretty successfully," said Casey. "It's definitely a transition from high school. You can't just study the night before and expect to do well."  Your background will play a role in how quickly you adjust, but the culture within Lehigh Lacrosse is one that helps bring those up to speed who may initially struggle.  "Academically, there's less of a time structure (than high school)," said Triolo. "You don't have classes from 8-3:00 then you go home, mom makes you dinner and you do your homework. It's your own free schedule and you've got to really bear down, create that schedule and don't get off track so you avoid getting overwhelmed at the end."  All of the Mountain Hawks' freshmen are required to take part in study hall in their first semester. All others under a 2.8 cumulative GPA and/or a term GPA of under a 2.8 in the most recent semester also take part in study hall. Each player is given 10-15 hours of study hall in a given week. Study hall is assigned as a way to help in the transition to Lehigh (for freshmen) and anyone else who may be struggling. It's a way to help, not punish.  The coaches can set standards and rules, but the players need to govern and monitor themselves for the program to have success, just like on the field.  "Holding each other accountable is important," said Triolo. "We have study hall hours and grade checks. We make sure we get those in and people are in study hall, not just signing in and not going. I really think it starts with seeing that everybody else is working hard to achieve this team goal, so why wouldn't you?"  There is a buy-in amongst the group in overall student-athlete success. Success in one area leads to success in another, and vice versa.  "It's important to take care of academics so you can excel at your best athletically," said Triolo. "At times, you can get pretty overwhelmed, both mentally and physically in terms of sleep and things that can really affect you. If you're at practice and you're thinking about a paper you have to write that's due in two hours which you haven't started yet, you're not going to be fully 'there' and able to compete at your highest level."  To come to Lehigh, student-athletes have to be a certain breed. Academic success has to be a high priority and that was certainly the case for Sawicki.  "I wanted to play Division I lacrosse and out of all the schools I was looking at, Lehigh was by far the most advanced academically," he said. "Outside of the coaches and the athletics, the fact that Lehigh is so highly-ranked and has good programs for what I want to do made a huge impact."  "The biggest 'tell' in the recruiting process is work ethic and toughness," said Cassese. "We recruit workers and grinders. We want young men who are going to roll up their sleeves and go to work on a daily basis. In order to thrive in the classroom at Lehigh, you have to possess that mentality about academics. Typically, those who possess that mentality about lacrosse can also replicate that mentality with academics."  The culture of Lehigh Lacrosse helps those promising students reach their full potential. It's not always easy, but the support system is in place to have success within the program. The goal of at least a 3.0 team GPA is a standard, a baseline. What the student-athletes can control is the amount of effort they put into academics. Triolo is an embodiment of hard work and that 'roll up your sleeves' mentality.  "I didn't really know what to expect (at Lehigh), so I told myself I was going to work as hard as I could and see where it goes," he said. "My philosophy has been to put in everything you can and you get the grade that you get. You can't control everything. Luckily, it's turned out pretty well." Â
