Mae Murphy of Loyola University Maryland was named as a Top-25 finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, according to an April 16 announcement from the Tewaaraton Foundation.
The Tewaaraton Award recognizes the top players in college lacrosse each year. Being included among the top 25 nominees highlights Murphy’s standout performance this season and her growing reputation in collegiate women’s lacrosse.
Murphy is notable as both the only freshman and the only draw specialist on this year’s list of nominees. She is one of five athletes from the Patriot League to be recognized, alongside Brigid Duffy and Allison Reilly from Army, and Alyssa Chung and Ava Yovino from Navy. Throughout the season, Murphy has excelled in draw controls, ranking second nationally with an average of 12.6 draws per game and a total of 189 draws. She leads Loyola’s draw unit with a team-best percentage of 68.8% and averages nearly 18 draws per game.
Murphy has consistently achieved double-digit draw numbers in all but three games this season, including seven games where she recorded at least 15 draws. Her highest single-game total came against Colgate with 19 draws. Against ranked opponents such as then-number-four Navy and number-ten Florida, she averaged over ten draws per game.
In addition to her seasonal accomplishments, Murphy set new records for draw controls by a freshman at Division I level, within both the Patriot League and Loyola University Maryland programs. As she approaches the final two regular-season games, she is just 21 draws away from tying Loyola’s single-season record set last year by Chase Boyle.
The field will be narrowed down to five finalists in early May before announcing this year’s winner at the Tewaaraton Ceremony scheduled for May 28 in Washington, D.C.
