OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – All-American defender Jake Pulver has been selected as the 2018 Senior CLASS Award® winner in men's lacrosse. Pulver is the fifth overall student-athlete from Cornell to win the Senior CLASS Award—the fourth to take home the honor for lacrosse, joining Matt McMonagle '07, Max Seibald '09, and Connor Buczek '15.
 
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. 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.
 
"It's an honor to win the Senior CLASS Award," said Pulver, who overcame ulcerative colitis as a teenager to achieve his goal of playing lacrosse at the Division I level. "When you look at the characteristics of the Senior CLASS Award, it really mirrors the ideals of the Cornell lacrosse program. Every member of our team works hard on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Those are the standards that were set by George Boiardi, who lost his life playing for Cornell, and every person in our locker room works really hard to live up to his example. I think every member of my senior class would have been a strong candidate, and I'm humbled to join the list of pretty incredible former Cornell players to have won this award during their time here." 
 
A two-time team captain and third-team USILA All-American in 2018, Pulver led the Big Red to an Ivy League Tournament championship and a spot in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse quarterfinals this season. A three-time All-Ivy defender, including a unanimous first-team selection this season, he earned a reputation as one of the best cover men in the conference and finished the 2018 season nationally ranked in caused turnovers. A four-year starter, he helped the Big Red to an Ivy championship in 2015 and has been the anchor of one of the best defenses in the conference during his four seasons. 
 
"I would like to congratulate Jake Pulver on being the recipient of this year's Senior CLASS Award," said Interim Head Coach Peter Milliman. "Jake is an incredibly hard worker and an outstanding teammate who pours his heart into everything that he does. It has been a great pleasure to watch him mature over his four years. I could not be prouder of the development of a young man, and he truly embodies all of the characteristics that we believe make Cornell Lacrosse special. This is evident by his overall performance on the field, in the classroom, and in the community as well as the progress that our team has made over the course of his career. I believe that our program's culture falls directly in line with those of the Senior CLASS Award, as Jake is our fourth recipient in the award's 12-year existence."
 
As committed to excellence as Pulver is on the field, he maintains the same standard in other notable areas including academics, community involvement and personal character. He has maintained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.37 as a biological sciences major with a pre-med concentration, to go along with a minor in business. Last summer, while studying for the MCAT, Pulver worked as a researcher with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) doctors on the completion of a study investigating the presence of a specific protein and its correlation to the severity of symptoms in IBD patients.
 
When it comes to the community, Pulver is consistently involved with service projects through the Big Red men's lacrosse team, the Sphinx Head Honor Society and Red Key Honor Society. For the past three years, he has helped coordinate the team's 21 Run to promote children's literacy, the Clinic for a Cause to raise money for the Dream Factory of Central New York and Big Red Readers and the team's participation in the Ithaca Kids Book Fest, also promoting children's literacy. Relating to his personal story, he also has been an event speaker for the Chrons and Colitis Foundation, encouraging others to continue following their dreams despite their diagnosis.
 
"What's most impressive about Jake Pulver is not just that he's overcome tremendous challenges, but that he's done so and gone on to excel in every facet as a Division I student-athlete," said Erik Miner, executive director for the Senior CLASS Award. "He's a positive role model on and off the field and will leave a legacy of all-around excellence at Cornell. We offer our sincere congratulations to Jake, his team and to Cornell University."