Taylor Cummings and Megan Douty of Maryland, Florida’s Shannon Gilroy and Kayla Treanor from Syracuse are the four nominees for the Honda Sports Award for lacrosse as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
The Honda Sports Award is presented annually by the CWSA to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2015 Honda Cup. The nominees were chosen by a panel of experts and coaches representing the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
The Honda Sports award winner for lacrosse will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Honda Sports award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sports award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2015 Honda Cup award which will be presented on June 29, in a live televised broadcast on CBS Sports Network from L.A.
Cummings is looking to repeat as the Honda Award winner for lacrosse after capturing the honor last season. The junior midfielder from Ellicott City, Md., helped her Terps to a second-straight national championship title and led her team with 37 assists, 100 points, 41 ground balls, 143 draw controls and 36 caused turnovers. She is a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, which she won in 2014, and is a three-time Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) first-team All-American.
Douty is regarded as one of the top defenders in the nation and captained her Maryland team to its second-straight NCAA title. Hailing from Fair Haven, N.J., the senior is a two-time conference Defender of the Year and a two-time IWLCA first-team All-American. For her career, she recorded 36 draw controls and 66 caused turnovers.
Gilroy is a two-time first-team IWLCA All-American and ranked second in the nation with 98 points and 74 goals scored. A two-time Tewaaraton finalist, she also led Florida in assists (24) and draw controls (79). She is a two-time conference Midfielder of the Year, a two-time Honda award nominee and a three-time conference first-team honoree. The senior midfielder hails from Northport, N.Y.
Treanor has been named a first-team IWLCA All-American in all three years playing for Syracuse. The junior from Niskayuna, N.Y., is a two-time Honda award nominee as well as a two-time Tewaaraton finalist. She was the 2015 ACC Offensive Player of the Year and has won first-team all-conference honors in each of her three seasons. She led her team with 60 goals and had 91 points to tie for fifth nationally.
THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 39 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.0 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.