Four Maryland women’s lacrosse players were announced to the 25-player nominee list for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the nation’s best player.
Attacker Megan Whittle, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg, defender Nadine Hadnagy and goalkeeper Megan Taylor earned nominations. The No. 1 Terps’ four nominees are the most from any school.
Former Terps midfielder Taylor Cummings won the award the past three seasons. The winner will be announced May 11.
Whittle, Stukenberg and Hadnagy were on the nominee list last season but were not named among the five finalists. They each were tabbed to the preliminary watch list, while Taylor was added later on. No goalkeeper has won the award, while Hadnagy has the chance to become the second defender to earn the honor.
Whittle has tallied a team-high 54 goals this season. The junior has also become a larger distributor with 10 assists, equaling her output from her first two seasons combined.
Stukenberg, a team captain, is third on the team in points (58), second in draw controls (53) and leads the squad with 37 ground balls. She has won the past two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors as the only non-goalkeeper to earn the accolade this season.
The squad’s other captain, Hadnagy, leads the team in caused turnovers (23) while taking over for Alice Mercer, a Tewaaraton finalist last season, as the defensive leader.
Taylor leads the nation in save percentage (.555), and teammates and coaches label her the “backbone” of the Terps’ defense. Last season’s Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, the sophomore has had several standout performances this season, including a 20-save effort against then-No. 3 Florida on March 29.
The Terps (17-0) completed their third straight undefeated regular season on Thursday with a win over No. 15 Northwestern. They will host the Big Ten tournament, which begins May 5.
