Maryland women’s lacrosse captains Lizzie Colson and Grace Griffin have been named Tewaaraton Award Nominees. This is the first time either player has made the list of the top 25 players in the nation vying for the prestigious award given to the best individual player in collegiate lacrosse.
The No. 14 Terps lay claim to eight of the last 10 Tewaaraton awards, including Megan Taylor, Zoe Stukenberg and three-time winner, Taylor Cummings.
Colson has shone as arguably the best defender in the nation this season, leading the NCAA in caused turnovers and sitting in second for ground balls. After returning from an extended injury, she made an instant impact on a young defensive group and the draw control unit, leading the Terps with 57 controls.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse’s long scoreless streaks proved costly against Rutgers]
The Manchester, Maryland native won her third Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award this season on Tuesday.
Griffin has been a force on both ends of the field from her midfield role in 2021. She has amassed 19 goals and a team-leading 14 assists, while slotting in second for ground balls and caused turnovers behind Colson.
A senior, Griffin recently announced she would take advantage of an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to play one more season for Maryland.
The Sykesville native has been key to leading the Terps in a tumultuous season, even netting a late-winner toward the end of the regular season, giving Maryland an important 9-8 win over Johns Hopkins.
The Terps are awaiting the results of Michigan and the Blue Jays’ final two regular season games to find out who they will meet in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. It will either be the No. 23 Wolverines, who they beat twice in February or the No.18 Penn State Nittany Lions, who swept them this year.
