April 25, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Northwestern senior Shannon Smith (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) and junior Taylor Thornton (Dallas, Texas/Hockaday School) are among 25 women's lacrosse players who have been nominated for the 2012 Tewaaraton Award, presented annually to the nation's top performer, the Tewaaraton Foundation announced Wednesday.
The list of nominees will be reduced to five student-athletes on both the men's and women's sides on May 10, with those 10 finalists receiving an invitation to the annual Tewaaraton Award ceremony in Washington, D.C., following the season.
"We congratulate these 50 elite student-athletes on their remarkable accomplishments thus far this season," said Jeff Harvey, chairman of the Tewaaraton Foundation. "With the help of our selection committees, we look forward to announcing this year's finalists next month."
The selection committees are comprised of 12 men's and 10 women's current and former coaches.
Smith is the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner on the women's side and this season has continued her climb up Northwestern's and the NCAA's career goals and points scored lists, leading NU with 50 goals and 66 points in 2012. She stands at 238 goals for her career, 12 shy of the Wildcats' school standard, and is third in school history with 334 career points; both figures rank in the top 15 all-time in Division I women's lacrosse. Smith has scored at least three goals in 10 games this year, including a win over Navy in which she notched a season-high eight points.
The 2011 national defensive player of the year in women's lacrosse, Thornton continues to prove herself as one of the country's top all-around talents, leading NU with 35 ground balls, ranking second with 53 draw controls and fourth with 20 goals, a career-best for the junior. Thornton has ascended to eighth and ninth on NU's career lists for draw controls and caused turnovers, respectively, and has a pair of hat tricks on the year. She routinely sparks the Wildcat offense with her play in the midfield, as she did with nine draw controls in Northwestern's 13-12 overtime comeback victory vs. Ohio State on March 31.
For more information on the Tewaaraton Award and the complete list of nominees, please visit Tewaaraton.com.
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