DURHAM, N.C.—A trio of Blue Devils has been selected among the 25 men's nominees for the 2021 Tewaaraton Award as announced by the Tewaaraton Award Foundation Thursday afternoon.
JT Giles-Harris,
Joe Robertson and
Michael Sowers are among the 25 players considered for the award honoring the nation's top men and women's lacrosse player.
Duke is one of three programs to have three nominees as Denver and Virginia also picked up three spots. Sowers was a finalist for the award in 2019 and joined Giles-Harris last season on the watch list prior to the season being cut short.
Giles-Harris, a graduate student, anchors the Duke defense, which ranks second in the ACC and 11th nationally with a 9.50 goals against average. A two-time USILA All-American, including a first-team selection in 2019, he ranks second among non-faceoff specialists in ground balls with 22 and is second in caused turnovers with 13.
The two-year team captain most recently was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after his stellar effort in holding the high-scoring Virginia offense to just 12 goals and none in the final 18:04 en route to a 13-12 overtime victory. He recorded his first career assist in the win and also picked up two ground balls and a caused turnover while holding top scorer Matt Moore to just two goals.
Giles-Harris has played in every game the past five seasons, starting all but one, and has 135 ground balls and 83 caused turnovers. He needs just six more takeaways to break the Duke career mark held by Luke Duprey.
Sowers, the overall favorite to win the Tewaaraton Award before the 2020 campaign was canceled, is among the best attackmen in the country. He currently leads the Duke offense with 25 goals and a team-best 30 assists for 55 points. He has scored a point in all 59 of his career games – 47 of which he played at Princeton – and has been held to just a single point twice in his career.
A two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Week this season, Sowers has scored at least three points in 10 of the 12 games for the Blue Devils and notched a season-best eight versus Air Force. He is a three-time USILA All-American and currently ranks fourth in NCAA history in points per game average (6.05/gm). He has played in 59 games and has 357 points from 146 goals and 211 assists, ranking fourth in NCAA history in points and assists.
Robertson is Duke's top scorer at 4.60 points per game and has been the Blue Devils' clutch performer with overtime winners against both North Carolina and Virginia. A senior team captain, Robertson returned to the field after missing the 2020 season to injury and hasn't missed a beat. He has scored at least one goal in 17 straight games and at least one point in 39 consecutive outings.
The Salem, Va., native was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week following his seven-point outing against No. 2 North Carolina on April 1. He most recently had five points in the win at No. 4 Virginia.
A starter on attack in 47 of his 48 games played, Robertson has 121 goals and 44 assists for 165 points. He currently ranks 23rd in Duke history in career points and 16th in career goals.
The third-ranked Blue Devils host No. 2 Notre Dame in the final regular season home game of the year. Faceoff is set for April 22, at 7 p.m., on ACC Network.
The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are comprised of premier college coaches and are appointed annually by the Tewaaraton Foundation.
Five men's and five women's finalists will be selected from these groups, to be announced in three weeks at the conclusion of the regular season. Details on the 2021 Tewaaraton Award Winners announcement will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
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