May 11, 2017
WASHINGTON - University of Denver junior Trevor Baptiste has been named one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, the committee announced on Thursday. Baptiste is the first faceoff specialist to be named a finalist in the award's 17-year history. Five men and five women were selected as finalists and will be invited to Washington, D.C., for the 17th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony on June 1.
The Denville, N.J., native is the third Pioneer to be selected as a finalist for the award, and the fifth player in the 33-year coaching career of Bill Tierney's leadership. Current senior Connor Cannizzaro was a finalist for the award a year ago, and in 2015, senior captain Wesley Berg became the first Denver player to be among the final five. Former Pioneer assistant coach Trevor Tierney was a finalist for the award while playing for his dad at Princeton in 2001.
"Having been in college coaching for 36 years, I have been blessed to be able to coach many gifted, skilled and hard-working young men," Tierney said. "Trevor Baptiste is right at the top of that list. He is the poster child for what every young lacrosse-playing student-athlete should strive to be. His calm demeanor, leadership qualities and genuine caring for others is second to none. On the field, I have never coached a player who is at the top of his position and yet strives to be better - not for himself - but for the good of the team."
A three-time Tewaaraton Award nominee, Baptiste is winning 73.6% of his faceoffs in 2017, and has picked up 141 ground balls on his 242 faceoff wins. Baptiste has scored a career-high nine goals this season to go along with two assists, including his first-career hat trick in Denver's 16-11 win over nationally ranked Villanova. The two-time USILA First Team All-America selection has won double-digit faceoffs in all 49 career games, has 20+ faceoff wins in 14 career games (including in four of his last seven) and has won all 14 faceoff match-ups in 2017 (45-2-2 in his career).
Baptiste earned 2017 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors last week, and turned in five conference player of the week performances. Over the course of the season, Baptiste earned National Player of the Week honors from four different publications.
The Denver junior was joined on the list by Connor Fields (Albany), Matt Rambo (Maryland), Ben Reeves (Yale) and Patrick Spencer (Loyola).
About The Tewaaraton Foundation
Founded at the University Club of Washington, DC, and first presented in 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the preeminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Endorsed by the Mohawk Nation Council of Elders and U.S. Lacrosse, the Tewaaraton Award symbolizes lacrosse's centuries-old roots in Native American heritage. The Tewaaraton Foundation ensures the integrity and advances the mission of this 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, please visit www.tewaaraton.com.
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