SALT LAKE CITY – Junior defenseman
Nikko DiPonio and redshirt junior attack
Ryan Stines of the Utah lacrosse team have been named Academic All-District, as announced on Tuesday by College Sports Communicators.
A communication major,
DiPonio was named All-America honorable mention after starting all 15 games and contributing a team-best 96 ground balls along with 20 caused turnovers. DiPonio also added four points via a pair of long pole goals and two assists on the season. The 2025 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and All-ASUN First Team selection was named a team captain and went on to lead the conference in ground balls per game (6.85) while ranking 12
th nationally in the category. He scooped up five or more ground balls in 11 of the team's 15 games, with his season total of 96 ranking third in program history. His 20 caused turnovers also place DiPonio eighth for a single season in Utah's NCAA history.
Stines, who studies kinesiology at the U, put up a team-best 63 points on the season by way of 23 goals and a program-record 40 assists. He started all 15 games on the year, earning a spot on the All-ASUN First Team as well as the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Stines' 2.38 assists per game were the most of any player in the ASUN this past season and placed him eighth in the country. He contributed multiple assists in 11 games, including a career-high eight helpers in a win over Bellarmine during the ASUN Tournament. He has started all 49 games he has appeared in at Utah, and finished the 2025 season on a 32-game point streak that dates back to May 2023.
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