Taylor Thornton (pictured) and Shannon Smith each are candidates to hoist the 2011 Tewaaraton Award as the nation's top women's lacrosse player on June 2.Taylor Thornton (pictured) and Shannon Smith each are candidates to hoist the 2011 Tewaaraton Award as the nation's top women's lacrosse player on June 2.

Smith, Thornton Nominated to Tewaaraton Award Watch List

April 19, 2011

Follow Northwestern Lacrosse on Twitter

EVANSTON, Ill. -- As the 2011 regular season hits the stretch run, the Greater Washington Sports Alliance has narrowed its list of nominees for the 2011 Tewaaraton Award, presented annually to the top player in men's and women's lacrosse. Northwestern junior attack Shannon Smith and sophomore defender Taylor Thornton each appear on the revised list, which was reduced from 55 to 24 female candidates.

Smith also was named to the midseason watch list as a sophomore in 2010 while Thornton was selected as a Tewaaraton nominee for the first time this year.

Smith is currently leading the nation in total points (78) and points per game (5.57). She ranks fifth among all Division I players in both goals (46) and goals (32) and is riding a streak of 36 consecutive games with at least one goal. The native of West Babylon, N.Y., has twice been named the ALC Offensive Player of the Week and on March 7 was tabbed as the womenslacrosse.com National Player of the Week.

Thornton has earned similar accolades in her sophomore season, receiving ALC Defensive Player of the Week and InsideLacrosse National Player of the Week honors after scoring the game-winner in overtime against No. 3 North Carolina. She already has doubled her scoring output from a year ago with 11 goals this season and ranks third on NU with 31 draw controls.

The 11th annual Tewaaraton Award will be presented on June 2, 2011 at the historic Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. Read more about the prestigious award at TewaaratonAward.org.

2011 Tewaaraton Award Nominees -- April 19
Casey Ancarrow, James Madison
Erin Brennan, Pennsylvania
Ally Carey, Vanderbilt
Kitty Cullen, Florida
Brittany Dipper,Maryland
Corey Donohoe, North Carolina
Liz Downs, Virginia
Leslie Foard, Stanford
Taylor Frink, Albany
Grace Gavin, Loyola University, Maryland
Grace Golden, William and Mary
Emma Hamm, Duke
Mia Hurrin, North Carolina
Karri Ellen Johnson, Maryland
Sarah Jonson, William and Mary
Christie Kaestner, Duke
Sarah Mollison, Maryland
Lauren Schmidt, Stanford
Katie Schwarzmann, Maryland
Shannon Smith, Northwestern
Kerry Stoothoff, Loyola University, Maryland
Kat Thomas, Duke
Taylor Thornton, Northwestern
Laura Zimmerman, North Carolina

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!