March 1, 2018
By Matt Paras
NOTRE DAME, Indiana – Junior captain Samantha Giacolone was named to the preseason Tewaaraton Award watch list, the foundation announced Thursday night in New York. The Irish have had a least one player named to the watch list every year during head coach Christine Halfpenny’s tenure in South Bend. The annual watch list includes the top 50 men’s and women’s collegiate lacrosse players in the country.
The Tewaaraton Award, presented by Under Armour, honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of premier collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation.
Giacolone, a preseason All-ACC honoree, is tied for first in the ACC and fifth nationally in saves with 50 through the first six games. She is coming off a 12 save performance last night in the 15-10 win over Marquette. It was her third game this season with 10 or more saves. Giacolone set a career high with seven ground balls against the Golden Eagles.
Earlier this season, Giacolone recorded a career-best .647 save percentage after making 11 saves on 17 shots in the road win over Jacksonville. She opened the season with 15 saves in a tight 13-11 loss to No. 6 Boston College.
Players not named to the initial lists have several opportunities to play their way into a spot as the season progresses. Watch list additions, if applicable, will be announced on March 22 and April 5. On April 26, the field will be narrowed to 25 men’s and 25 women’s 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 men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced on May 10 and invited to the 17th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, which will be held in Washington, D.C., on May 31.
The Irish return to action on Sunday when they travel to Louisville for their first conference road game. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.