Caroline Cryer Nominated For 2006-07 Honda Sports Award

DURHAM, N.C. --- Junior attacker Caroline Cryer has been named one of four nominees for the Honda Sports Lacrosse Award, which is awarded annually to the nation's top female collegiate lacrosse player. This is the third consecutive year that Duke has had a Honda Sports Lacrosse Award nominee. The winner after nationwide balloting will become a candidate for The Honda-Broderick Cup awarded annually to the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

The other four finalists are Maryland's Dana Dobbie, Johns Hopkins' Mary Key, and Northwestern's Kristen Kjellman. In addition to the honor of this selection, American Honda will donate $1,000 to the women's athletic fund of each nominee's university. This will be sent to the senior women administrator by the close of the school year. The winner's program will receive $5,000.

Cryer, a native of Cherry Creek, Colo., leads Duke with 67 goals this season. That is good for the best mark in the ACC and is tied for the third-best in the NCAA at 3.53 goals per game. Cryer is second in the conference and 14th in the nation in points per game with 4.42. Her 64 draw controls leads the Blue Devils in that category, and she is third in the ACC and 10th in the NCAA with her 3.37 draw controls per game. Cryer's five game-winning goals are tied for the ACC lead. She is one of only five players in the country with at least 50 goals and 50 draw controls this season. Cryer's 21-game goal streak is tops among players still in the tournament. She is also one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is given annually to the nation's top collegiate lacrosse player. On Feb. 19, Cryer was named the ACC Player of the Week and took womenslacrosse.com's Player of the Week award on April 3, and was selected to the womenslacrosse.com Weekly Honor Roll on May 22. She was named to the All-ACC team for the first time in her career in April.

Duke Season Goals Record List
1. Katie Chrest (2005) 70
2. Caroline Cryer (2007) 67
3. Katie Chrest (2006) 64

The No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils (16-3) will take on the No. 3 seed Virginia Cavaliers (18-3) in a national semifinal showdown between the two ACC foes. The game will start at approximately 8:30 p.m. (45 minutes after the conclusion of the game between No. 1 seed Northwestern vs. No. 4 seed Pennsylvania), on Friday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa. If Duke is able to defeat the Cavaliers, it will play in the national championship match on Sunday at 7 p.m., on CSTV. Ticket information can be found on the official 2007 Women's Lacrosse Championship website, which is www.drawphiladelphia.com.

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