Courtesy AHCA

GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Senior defenseman Jeff Landers of Amherst College has been chosen by the nation's coaches as the 2009 winner of the Sid Watson Award Award, symbolic of the nation's best Division III men's hockey player. The 6-0, 205-pound native of Hanover, Mass., helped the Lord Jeffs to a 22-5-1 record, best in school history, and the NESCAC championship. The Amherst season ended last weekend with a 2-1 overtime loss to Hobart College in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Landers, the NESCAC Player of the Year, earned first team All-American status this season and was a major reason that Amherst hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time, defeating Babson, 4-1, on March 9. The team captain, Landers recorded nine goals and 33 assists for 42 points in 28 games this past season. His career marks: 23-75-98 in 104 career contests.

Said Amherst College head coach Jack Arena, “As our captain, Jeff has exhibited outstanding leadership both on and off of the ice. He excels in the classroom (3.5 GPA) and has been named to the NESCAC All Academic Team twice. Jeff has also led the team in a number of community service projects. Over the last several months the team has participated in Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity and reading to local first graders. Jeff has also been co-president of a group called 3-D (Difference for the Developmentally Disabled) which meets weekly and provides a wide array of activities for a group of developmentally disabled adults. Jeff is one of the finest examples of a student-athlete that I have had the pleasure of coaching.”

The award is named in honor of former Bowdoin College head coach Sid Watson, a three-time winner of the Edward Jeremiah Award as Division III Coach of the Year. Watson won 326 at Bowdoin in a career that spanned from 1959 to 1983. He was also the school’s athletic director.

The runner-up for the 2009 Sid Watson Award was Chad Beiswenger, a senior goaltender at Wisconsin-Superior.

Past Winners
1993 - Frank Cirrone, F, UW-Stevens Point
1994 - Ray Alcindor, F, Middlebury
1995 - Charlie Gaffney, F, Bowdoin
1996 - Ian Smith, D, Middlebury
1997 - Steve Toll, F, RIT
1998 - Mark Spence, F, Middlebury
1999 - Rob Smillie, F, St. Norbert
2000 - Steve Aronson, F. St. Thomas
2001 - Keith Aucoin, F, Norwich
2002 - Jerry Gallway, D, RIT
2003 - Maris Ziedins, F, St. Norbert
2004 - Kevin Cooper, F, Middlebury
2005 - Kurtis McLean, F, Norwich
2006 - Adam Hanna, G, St. John’s
2007 - Andrew Gallant, G, Manhattanville
2008 - Kyle Jones, G, St. Norbert