Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/9/19
From Press Releases
The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the five men’s finalist for the 2019 Tewaaraton Award on Thursday evening, and Penn State redshirt-junior Grant Ament and Princeton junior attackkan Michael Sowers made the list.
“It is an extremely humbling honor to be recognized alongside so many incredible players, but I would not be in the position without every one of my teammates,” Ament said of earning a spot as a Tewaaraton finalist.
“It is an incredible feeling to represent Penn State lacrosse as the first Tewaaraton finalist, given how many amazing players have come through this program. This will hopefully carry on a culture of excellence here.”
Ament is pacing the nation’s top-scoring offense as the Nittany Lions captured the program’s first Big Ten regular season and Tournament titles, en route to the NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed.
The Doylestown native set an NCAA Division I single-season record with 78 assists, surpassing UMBC’s Steve Marohl and two-time Tewaaraton winner Lyle Thompson. He leads the nation with 5.57 assists per game and 7.21 points per game, while ranking second nationally with 101 points—a program record. Ament was unanimously named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and earned spots on the All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Tournament Team. He is Penn State’s first Tewaaraton finalist.
Sowers broke the Princeton records for points in a season (90) and career (255) this past season. Of course, it was his own season record that he broke, after his 83 points a year ago, which broke his record of 82 from his freshman year. He is already 20th in NCAA history in career assists and is on pace to finish in the top 10 in Division I history in career points.
His 6.07 points per game and 3.57 assists per game career averages are both fifth all-time in Division I and the most by any player since the 1980s.
“Michael is extremely deserving of this honor,” said Princeton head coach Matt Madalon. “He’s obviously a great player, and he’s also hard-working and a great leader. He’s not in it for the individual recognition he gets, but the entire Princeton lacrosse family is proud of him and congratulates him.”
For his junior season Sowers ranks second in Division I in assists per game and third in points per game. He tied the school record with 11 points in one game, against Siena, and he finished the season with a career-high seven goals against Cornell. He was named first-team All-Ivy League for the third straight time, the last two years unanimously.
Sowers broke Kevin Lowe’s 25-year-old school record of 247 career points in just 41 games. Sowers ended his junior year with 105 goals and 150 assists, leaving him as one of three players in Ivy League history – and first from Princeton – with at least 100 career goals and 150 career assists (along with Cornell’s Rob Pannell and Brown’s Darren Lowe).
Ament and Sowers are joined by Pat Spencer of Loyola -Maryland, TD Irelan of Yale, and Jared Bernhardt.
The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the preeminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. These 10 student-athletes, five male and five females, will be invited to Washington, D.C., for the 19th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony on May 30.
The guidelines for finalists and recipient selections are as follows:
Finalists will be the best five players chosen without regard to institution.
Finalists will be selected based on individual performance and a player’s contribution to the success of their team.
Finalists are chosen based on the current year’s regular-season performance (date of selection is at the conclusion of the regular season, before playoffs).
Recipients are chosen based on the current year’s regular season and playoff performance.
Sportsmanship can play a role in the selection process and it is important that the recipient upholds the mission and values of the Tewaaraton Award.
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 http://www.tewaaraton.com.
