The NCAA recognized UNC sophomore P.J. Zinsner on Friday as its Elite 90 Award for men’s lacrosse, which honors the player with the highest cumulative grade point average competing in the Final Four.

An economics major from Alexandria, Virginia, Zinsner’s 3.982 GPA is the highest ever for a men’s lacrosse winner in the 10-year history of the award.

He was presented with the honor on the field following the Tar Heels’ practice session on Friday.

Zinsner — a midfielder — has appeared in just five games for UNC this season and has not recorded any on-field statistics but this award goes right along with head coach Joe Breschi’s mantra for the program, which is “Family. Academics. Lacrosse.”

This marks the 14th time a UNC athlete has won an Elite 90 Award, which ranks third-most among all NCAA Division I schools. Zinsner is the first Tar Heel men’s lacrosse player to earn the honor.

There have been five UNC field hockey players to claim the award, four women’s soccer athletes and two each in both women’s lacrosse and men’s soccer.

The most recent Tar Heel winners prior to Zinsner are Natalie Chandler (women’s soccer) and Abby Pitcairn (field hockey), who each did it during the 2019-20 school year.

Eligibility for the award requires student-athletes to be sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. In the event of a tie for top GPA, the number of course credits completed serves as the tiebreaker.

The top-seeded Tar Heels saw their season come to an end on Saturday, as No. 4 Virginia beat UNC in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, 12-11.

 

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