ITHACA, N.Y. — Men's hockey senior captain defenseman Keir Ross was named one of five First-Team All-Americans for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which was presented Thursday at the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla.
 
Ross is one of five first-teamers, along with winner Jack Connolly of Minnesota-Duluth. The second team is comprised of the other five finalists for the award, which is presented annually to a NCAA Division I senior with notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Ross just completed his senior season with the Big Red, serving as the team's captain. He was a key contributor for a Big Red team that competed in the NCAA tournament in three of his four years on campus, including an ECAC Hockey championship in 2010. He was one of the top defensive presences on the team, particularly as a key cog on a penalty-killing unit that has ranked in the top 10 nationally over two of the last four seasons. His plus-15 rating was tied for second on the team in 2011-12 and was best among defensemen.

Outside of the rink, Ross is a two-time selection to the ECAC Hockey Academic All-League team and was the Big Red's Hockey Scholar Athlete in 2011. He was also named to the College of Human Ecology Dean's List in 2010, carrying a 3.57 grade point average in Human Biology, Health and Society. Ross is an assistant researcher for the Cornell Veterinary College and is writing a paper on his study of assessing the utility of a laser scanning imaging technique called multiphoton microscopy. He worked on a study for more than a year on cartilage image techniques. The project was the platform for Ross' senior thesis for Cornell's Nutrition department. He intends on applying for medical school following his graduation.

Men's Ice Hockey First-Team All-Americans
Chad Billins, Defender, Ferris State
Jack Connolly, Center, Minnesota-Duluth
Ryan Flanigan, Forward, Merrimack
Keir Ross, Defender, Cornell
Paul Weisgarber, Forward, Air Force
 
Men's Ice Hockey Second-Team All-Americans
Sean Duddy, Defender, Ohio State
Scott Greenham, Goaltender, Alaska-Fairbanks
Sean Lorenz, Defender, Notre Dame
Jack Maclellan, Forward, Brown
Cody Reichard, Goaltender, Miami (Ohio)