Northwestern University Athletics
Trio Among 17 Tewaaraton Finalists
4/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 20, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Tewaaraton Award Foundation Friday narrowed its preseason list to 17 finalists for this year's Tewaaraton Trophy and among them are sophomores Hannah Nielsen and Meredith Frank and last year's winner, Kristen Kjellman.
Of these players, five finalists will be selected and the winner will be announced at the Tewaaraton Awards Banquet on May 30th, 2007 in Washington, D.C.
Despite constant attention and double-teams, Kjellman has still put up very solid numbers for the 11-1 Wildcats and ranks among the ALC and NCAA leaders in several statistical categories. She is third on the team with 32 goals and 17 assists and leads the team with 37 draw controls. In the national showdown with No. 2 Maryland last Monday, Kjellman put the Wildcats on her back, scoring three goals -- including two-straight in a :20 second span -- and dishing out one assist in the victory. She has tallied multiple points in all but one game this season, including eight games (out of 12) with three or more. This year Kjellman set the Northwestern all-time record with 308 points and counting. She needs eight more assists to become only the eighth player in the history of Division I women's lacrosse to record at least 200 goals and 100 assists in a career.
Nielsen has enjoyed a breakout year in 2007, making her name recognized around the lacrosse world as force to be reckoned with this season and in the years to come. She leads the team and ranks in the top five nationally with 35 assists and 63 points and is on pace to shatter Northwestern's record for assists in a season. Nielsen has been a steady force behind the net on attack all season long, recording at least two points in every game and nine games with at least four. Against No. 8 Penn State, she tallied a career-high five dimes and had her best game with five goals and four assists in the win at Boston University.
Frank is Northwestern's top goal-scorer this season with 35 goals and 11 assists for 46 points. The ALC Rookie of the Year in 2006, Frank has scored at least one point in every game of her young career -- 33-straight games to be exact -- heading into Friday night. Frank saves her best for the best. In six games against top 10 teams this year she has scored 17 goals, including four against No. 4 Duke and No. 8 Penn State and three in the win over No. 2 Maryland. She also has two five-goal performances to her credit against Connecticut and Vanderbilt, both top 20 teams.
Northwestern is in action tonight (Friday) as they take on No. 13 Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The game is being aired live on CSTV, channel 610 on DirecTV.
The 17 Tewaaraton Trophy Finalists:
Berger, Kelly -- James Madison
Breslin, Kate -- Virginia
Cooke, Jen -- North Carolina
Cryer, Caroline -- Duke
Dobbie, Dana -- Maryland
Douthett, Whitney -- Dartmouth
Falcone, Amber -- North Carolina
Frank, Meredith -- Northwestern
Hordy, Kristen -- North Carolina
Kasper, Kelly -- Maryland
Key, Mary -- Johns Hopkins
Kjellman, Kristen -- Northwestern
Nielsen, Hannah -- Northwestern
Renna, Hilary -- Pennsylvania
Stanwick, Coco -- Georgetown
Taylor, Lauren -- Yale
Waagbo, Kristen -- Duke
