Feb. 27, 2015
2015 Tewaaraton Award Watch List
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse players have been named to the 2015 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Matt Kavanagh (Jr./A), Matt Landis (Jr./D), Jack Near (Sr./M) and Sergio Perkovic (So./M) are among 50 players up for the national player-of-the-year award.
The watch list includes players across all three divisions of NCAA lacrosse and highlights the early contenders for the 2015 Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour.
All four Fighting Irish standouts earned preseason All-America status from Inside Lacrosse and they have helped No. 2 Notre Dame get off to a 2-0 start this season.
Kavanagh (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) is a two-time All-America honoree who is off to a solid 2015 campaign with four goals and a team-high five assists. For his career, Kavanagh has racked up 78 goals and 54 assists. He was a Tewaaraton Award nominee last season in addition to garnering All-ACC honors. Kavanagh also was named the MVP of the ACC Championship after helping the Irish win the title.
Landis (Pelham, N.Y.) is in his second season as a starter in Notre Dame’s close defense. He has competed in 35 career games, including 19 starts, and has scooped up 40 ground balls. Landis played extensive minutes as a long-stick midfielder during his freshman season before moving to close defense last year.
Near (Bronxville, N.Y.) has been extremely valuable throughout his career as a short-stick defensive midfielder. He also has provided offense for the Fighting Irish, totaling 13 goals and eight assists in 50 career games. Near earned honorable mention All-America accolades last season and he was selected seventh overall by the Rochester Rattlers in the 2015 Major League Lacrosse Draft.
Perkovic (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) has posted five goals and two assists this season from Notre Dame’s first midfield line. Last season, he tallied 28 goals, including five against Duke in the national title game, and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.
Players not named to the initial list have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch list additions, if applicable, will be announced March 19 and April 9. On April 23, the field will be narrowed to 25 nominees. Nominees can be players on the watch lists or players not on the watch lists, effectively allowing for a third round of additions. Five finalists will be announced on May 7 and invited to the ceremony. The Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2015, at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
The Fighting Irish return to action Saturday when they play host to Dartmouth. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET) inside the Loftus Sports Center.
— Sean Carroll, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director
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The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.
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