Northwestern University Athletics
Kjellman, Nielsen Among Five Tewaaraton Finalists
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
May 10, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Tewaaraton Award Foundation Thursday announced the five finalists for this year's women's Tewaaraton Trophy. Among them are not one, but two players from Northwestern in senior midfielder Kristen Kjellman -- last year's winner -- and sophomore attacker Hannah Nielsen.
Both players will represent the Wildcats in Washington, D.C., on May 30 for the presentation of the award. The other three finalists are Duke's Caroline Cryer, Maryland's Dana Dobbie and Mary Key from Johns Hopkins.
Kjellman, a finalist for the third-straight year, leads the nation's top scoring team with 57 goals to compliment 22 assists on the season. She may have had a relatively slower start to the 2007 season -- if you call 29 goals and 16 assists in 11 games a slow start. But all that has changed over the past month as she has once again regained her dominant form, scoring 28 goals over the last seven games (4.0 per game). Last week Kjellman took home the American Lacrosse Conference's (ALC) Player of the Year award for the third-straight season and is a first-team all-conference choice for the fourth year in a row. She also was named to the ALC All-Tournament team, highlighted by a five-goal, three-assist performance in the championship game against No. 8 Johns Hopkins. She ranks 11th nationally with 3.2 goals per game and is one of only five players this season with at least 50 goals and 50 draw controls. Kjellman has recorded at least 50 goals and 70 points in all of her four years, owns the all-time Northwestern record for goals (241) and points (338) and needs three more assists to become the eighth player in the history of women's lacrosse to net at least 200 goals and 100 assists in a career.
Nielsen has been the straw stirring the 'Cats drink this season from the attack position, dishing out one beautiful assist after another. She leads the Wildcats with 106 points on 45 goals and a team-high 61 assists. She has been on a tear of late, dishing out 23 assists over the last four games -- an average of 5.75 per game. She ranks second in the NCAA with 3.3 assists, third with 5.9 points per game and her 61 assists is the second-highest on the all-time NCAA list (record is 66). The Australia native recorded seven assists in back-to-back games against Ohio State and Hofstra -- tying the school's single-game record -- and totaled nine assists and seven goals in the two ALC Tournament wins last weekend, earning tournament MVP honors. One of the most consistent players for the Wildcats this season, Nielsen has recorded at least two points in every game this year and has 13 games with five or more.
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation, in conjunction with the University Club of Washington, D.C., formally established the "Tewaaraton Trophy" on August 29, 2000. Today, the Tewaaraton Trophy is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States. The Foundation honors lacrosse, the original and oldest American sport, through the Tewaaraton name and by promoting the game through the award.
