Christopher Newport University

2018 - Senior Season - Wrapped up his career as the most accomplished faceoff specialist in program history ... Secured first-team All-State, second-team All-Conference, and honorable mention All-Region and All-American accolades for his work during the year ... Led the CAC and established a new single-season program record with 248 faceoff victories ... Also set a new school standard and ranked second in the conference with 107 ground balls ... Registered a .628 faceoff percentage and won at least half of his battles in 18 of his 19 appearances ... Won 20 faceoffs and grabbed eight ground balls against Illinois Wesleyan on March 14 ... Also had 18 victories against Mary Washington on April 28 after posting 17 triumphs on three other occasions ... Went 17-for-22 with 10 ground balls in the season opener against No. 20 Washington & Lee on February 14 ... Continued excelling against nationally-ranked competition with a 16-for-19 showcase at No. 18 Roanoke on March 28 ... Came back with 14 more victories against the Maroons in the NCAA Tournament on May 9 ... Posted three points during the year, including a goal and an assist against Randolph-Macon on February 21 ... Also found the back of the net in a CAC bout at St. Mary's (Md.) on March 31 ... Left CNU as the program's career record holder with 773 faceoff victories and a .610 faceoff percentage ... Also established a new standard with 68 career appearances while finishing second on the all-time charts with 272 ground balls.

2017 - Junior Season - Remained a dominant presence as one of the nation's top faceoff specialists ... Collected first-team All-Conference and All-Region accolades while securing second-team All-State nods ... Led the CAC and ranked 17th nationally with a .636 faceoff percentage ... Won 194 of his 305 faceoff attempts ... His 194 total victories marked the second-highest single-season total in program history, while his 66 ground balls ranked seventh on the all-time charts ... Had at least 10 faceoff victories in nine of his appearances and posted a season-high 22 wins against St. Mary's (Md.) on April 12 ... Also excelled against top-flight competition after winning 20 faceoffs against No. 5 York (Pa.) in the CAC semifinals on April 22 and 12 battles against No. 1 Salisbury on April 5 ... Won 19 of his 26 attempts against Mary Washington on March 29 and secured 13 of his 14 battles against Wesley on April 8 ... Captured at least half of his faceoff attempts in 14 of his 17 appearances during the year ... Secured at least five ground balls in seven contests and had eight on three occasions ... Also contributed a goal and an assist against Southern Virginia in the first round of the CAC Tournament on April 19 ... Tied the career record for faceoff victories in the season finale after winning his 525th against nationally-ranked York (Pa.) in the conference playoffs.

2016 - Sophomore Season - Continued to anchor the team on faceoffs and secured second-team All-CAC accolades for his efforts … Was a workhorse throughout the season, ranking in the top-25 nationally with 208 faceoff victories and 366 attempts … Stood second on the team with 59 ground balls, which also equaled the eighth-highest single-season total in program history … Won a season-high 21 faceoffs at Wesley on April 9 … That total stands second on CNU’s all-time single-game list … Also secured 17 victories at Marymount on March 19 and Virginia Wesleyan on March 23 … Won at least a dozen faceoffs in 10 of his 17 appearances during the year … Collected a season-high eight ground balls against Washington & Lee on February 11 and St. Mary’s (Md.) on April 13 … Contributed three assists during the year as well, including one against No. 7 York (Pa.) on April 16 … Also added helpers at Southern Virginia and Wesley.

2015 - Freshman Season - Made a quick transition to the college game and put together an outstanding freshman campaign for the Captains … Excelled as the faceoff specialist, posting a .609 winning percentage which ranks third on the program’s all-time single-season list … Eventually won 123 of his 202 attempts … Set a single-game program record by winning 24 of his 25 faceoffs against Virginia Wesleyan on March 11 … Honored as the CAC Offensive Player of the Week for that performance … Registered 12 ground balls at Randolph-Macon in just his second collegiate appearance on February 25 … That total stands second on CNU’s single-game list … Also won 15 faceoffs against the Yellow Jackets before going 20-for-26 at Mary Washington on April 1 … Won at least 10 faceoffs on six occasions, including 11-of-13 against Southern Virginia on April 4 … Finished the year with 41 ground balls … Picked up at least two in six of his 15 appearances.

At Heritage - Multi-sport standout for the Eagles … Excelled as a midfielder and saw time on faceoffs with the lacrosse team … Collected second-team All-Conference accolades during his sophomore and junior campaigns … Also served as a team captain during his final two seasons with the squad … Competed in basketball for four years as well … Named a team captain during his senior campaign.
 
Personal - Anthony David Cruz is the son of Terry and Claudia Cruz … Has a brother, Sam, a sister, Amelia, and a brother-in-law, John ... Derek Jeter is his favorite athlete, and Abraham Lincoln is the person in history he would most like to meet ... "The Guardian" is his favorite movie, and "And Then There Were None" is his favorite book ... Dave Matthews is his favorite musician ... Majoring in sociology with a criminology concentration.