WASHINGTON, May 7, 2015 – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the men’s and women’s finalists for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour. Five men and five women were selected as finalists and will be invited to Washington, D.C., for the 15th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony on May 28, 2015.
The five men’s finalists are University of Denver attackman Wesley Berg, Duke University midfielder Myles Jones, University of Notre Dame attackman Matt Kavanagh, Syracuse University attackman Kevin Rice and University at Albany attackman Lyle Thompson
The five women’s finalists are University of Maryland midfielder Taylor Cummings, University of Florida midfielder Shannon Gilroy, Boston College midfielder Sarah Mannelly, University of Notre Dame defender Barbara Sullivan and Syracuse University attacker Kayla Treanor.
Cummings, the 2014 women’s recipient, and Thompson, the 2014 co-winner along with his brother, Miles, return as finalists for a second consecutive year, as do Gilroy and Treanor. All 10 finalists will compete in this month’s NCAA lacrosse championships, at the conclusion of which the selection committees will vote on and select this year’s winners.
“These 10 finalists have been chosen among many worthy candidates by the game’s top coaches on the Tewaaraton selection committees,” said Jeffrey Harvey, chairman of The Tewaaraton Foundation. “Our board congratulates each of them and their teams for their accomplishments to date. We look forward to welcoming this group of special individuals to Washington, D.C., on May 28.”
The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse player in the United States. Finalists come from a pool of 25 men’s and 25 women’s nominees. The selection committees are comprised of 15 men’s and 14 women’s current and former college coaches.
Brief bios of the men’s finalists:
Denver’s Wesley Berg, the Big East Attack Player of the Year, capped a record-setting career with 60 points on 43 goals and 17 assists this regular season. The senior from Coquitlam, B.C., helped the Pioneers to the Big East regular season and tournament championship, earning a spot on the Big East All-Tournament Team. Berg set Denver’s career points and goals records on April 11 against St. John’s, and now sits on 237 career points and 173 career goals. His 173 career goals rank first among active players in the NCAA, two ahead of Albany’s Lyle Thompson. Berg is Denver’s first Tewaaraton finalist.
Duke’s Myles Jones collected All-ACC honors for a second consecutive year, becoming the first midfielder in program history to eclipse 70 points in a season. The nation’s second-leading scoring midfielder, Jones paces the Blue Devils with 36 assists and 75 points, and his 4.56 points per game ranked third in the conference. He has registered a hat trick in nine of his 16 outings and has scored at least five points nine times. The junior from Huntington, N.Y., would be Duke’s third Tewaaraton winner, joining Matt Danowski (2007) and Ned Crotty (2010).
Notre Dame junior attackman Matt Kavanagh leads the Irish in scoring with 26 goals, 24 assists and 50 points through the regular season. The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native earned All-ACC accolades for a second consecutive season, and ranks among the conference’s statistical leaders in assists per game (fourth, 2.20) and points per game (sixth, 4.30). He lifted the Irish to the ACC regular-season crown with two late goals in a memorable home win over North Carolina, and helped Notre Dame to the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 seed. Kavanagh joins Tom Glatzel (2001) as Notre Dame’s second Tewaaraton finalist, and would be the Irish’s first winner.
Syracuse attackman Kevin Rice, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, tops the conference in points per game (4.85), assists per game (2.77) and game-winning goals (5). The senior from Skaneateles, N.Y., leads the Orange with 68 points and 39 assists, and earned his second consecutive all-conference selection. He scored 11 points in two games, including the semifinal game-winner, to claim ACC Championship MVP honors as Syracuse claimed the program’s first league title. His per-game averages for assists and points rank third and sixth in the nation, respectively. Rice looks to join Michael Powell (2002, 2004) and Mike Leveille (2008) as Syracuse’s Tewaaraton Award winners.
A finalist for the third consecutive year, Albany’s Lyle Thompson seeks to become the first repeat winner in the 15-year history of the Tewaaraton Award. The senior attackman from Onondaga Nation, N.Y., who last year shared the Tewaaraton Award with his brother, Miles, led Albany to the America East regular season and tournament titles, earning his third consecutive conference Player of the Year award to go with Most Outstanding Player of the America East Tournament. Thompson leads the nation with 6.29 points per game, and his 107 points and 59 assists are both second nationally. On April 14, he passed 2013 Tewaaraton Award winner Rob Pannell (Cornell) as the all-time scoring leader in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse.
Brief bios of the women’s finalists:
Maryland midfielder and reigning Tewaaraton winner Taylor Cummings leads the Terrapins with 82 points, 29 assists, 39 ground balls, 125 draw controls and 33 caused turnovers. The junior from Ellicott City, Md., earned Big Ten Midfielder of the Year honors and was named all-conference for a third consecutive year as Maryland compiled a 17-1 record and earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. A member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, Cummings’ per game averages for points, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers top the Big Ten, and she ranks fifth in the nation in points and draw controls. She would be the Terps’ sixth Tewaaraton Award winner.
Returning Tewaaraton finalist Shannon Gilroy paces Florida’s second-ranked scoring offense with 67 goals, 22 assists, 89 points, 68 draw controls and 20 caused turnovers. The senior midfielder from Northport, N.Y., claimed the Big East Midfielder of the Year and Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player awards and her third all-conference honor. Gilroy became the Gators’ all-time leader in goals and points, helping Florida claim the Big East regular season and tournament titles. She ranks second in the nation in points and third in goals, and her 241 career goals and 302 points lead all active NCAA Division I women’s players. She would be the Gators’ first Tewaaraton Award winner.
Junior Sarah Mannelly helped Boston College to a 15-3 record and the program’s highest-ever seed in the NCAA tournament (No. 5). The midfielder and team captain from New Canaan, Conn., earned her second career All-ACC selection, one of three Eagles to garner first-team honors. The first Tewaaraton finalist in Boston College program history, Mannelly’s 49 goals and 20 caused turnovers rank first on the team, while she is also in the squad’s top two in points (66), ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (20).
Notre Dame defender Barbara Sullivan rebounded after missing nearly the entire 2014 season with injury to claim ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. She leads the Irish with 41 ground balls, paces the ACC with 34 caused turnovers, and has set school single-season and career records with 73 and 194 draw controls, respectively. The senior from Garden City, N.Y., was named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Tournament Team as the Irish earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. Sullivan is Notre Dame’s first Tewaaraton finalist since Jillian Byers in 2009, and would be the program’s first winner.
Syracuse attacker Kayla Treanor, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is a Tewaaraton finalist for a second consecutive season. The junior from Niskayuna, N.Y., leads the Orange with 53 goals and ranks second on the squad with 27 assists, 80 points, 26 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers. She ranks second in the conference in both points and assists, and her five game-winning goals, including two in the ACC Tournament, are best in the conference. A first team All-ACC performer and U.S. Women’s National Team member, Treanor scored the double-overtime game-winner to lift the sixth-seeded Orange to its first ACC Championship. She would be the program’s first Tewaaraton Award winner.
The guidelines for finalists and recipient selections are as follows:
• Finalists will be the best five players chosen without regard to institution
• Finalists will be selected based on individual performance and a player’s contribution to the success of their team.
• Finalists are chosen based on the current year’s regular season performance (date of selection is at the conclusion of regular season and before playoffs).
• Recipients are chosen based on current year’s regular season and playoff performance.
• Sportsmanship can play a role in the selection process and it is important that the recipient upholds the mission and values of the Tewaaraton Award.
Media credentials are available for the Tewaaraton Award Ceremony in the News and Press section of www.tewaaraton.com. Credential requests are due by Tuesday, May 26.
This year’s initial Watch Lists were announced on Feb. 28 and included the top 50 men’s and women’s college lacrosse players in the country. Two rounds of additions to the Watch Lists were announced on March 19 and April 9. On April 23, the 25 men’s and women’s nominees were announced.
For more information on the Tewaaraton Award, how to donate to this non-profit or to attend this exciting event, visit Tewaaraton.com. Like and follow The Tewaaraton Foundation at Facebook.com/Tewaaraton, Twitter.com/Tewaaraton and Instagram.com/Tewaaraton.
About The Tewaaraton Foundation
The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The Award symbolizes lacrosse’s centuries-old roots in Native American heritage and is endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and US Lacrosse. The Tewaaraton Foundation is a non-profit that defines the mission and upholds the integrity of The Tewaaraton Award. Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents two scholarships to students of Native American descent. To learn more about The Tewaaraton Foundation, visit Tewaaraton.com.
About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA), the originator of performance footwear, apparel and equipment, revolutionized how athletes across the world dress. Designed to make all athletes better, the brand’s innovative products are sold worldwide to athletes at all levels. The Under Armour Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world’s largest digital health and fitness community through a suite of applications: UA Record, MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal. The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Md. For further information, please visit the company’s website at www.uabiz.com.
