April 27, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame senior goalie John Kemp has been named a nominee for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top lacrosse player. Kemp, who also was a nominee last season, is among 25 players up for the prestigious honor.
Five finalists will be selected in mid-May. The finalists will be invited to Washington, D.C. for the 13th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, May 30 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) boasts a 10-2 record in goal this season for the top-ranked Fighting Irish. He currently is eighth nationally in goals-against average (7.76) to go along with a .533 save percentage. The senior has made 10 or more saves in a game seven times this season, including a season-high 14 stops in last Saturday’s 13-9 win over Villanova.
In addition to ranking eighth in goals-against average, Notre Dame is sixth in man-down defense. The Irish have allowed just seven goals in 31 man-down opportunities (.226).
Kemp, one of four goalies on the list of nominees, and the Fighting Irish have been tested on a weekly basis this season. Notre Dame is 4-0 against teams currently in the top 10 of the RPI and the Irish have faced eight teams that have been ranked at the time of the game.
Last season, Kemp led the nation in goals-against average (6.27) and save percentage (.637). He earned first team All-America honors and was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Kemp received honorable mention All-America accolades as a sophomore.
Kemp joins attackman Pat Walsh as the only two-time Tewaaraton Award nominees in Notre Dame history. Walsh earned the distinction in 2004 and 2005. Kemp will look to become the program’s first Tewaaraton Award finalist.
Notre Dame (10-2, 4-1) will face No. 7 Syracuse (10-3, 4-1) this evening in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic. Faceoff is slated for 6:30 (ET) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and WatchESPN.com.
2013 Tewaaraton Award Nominees
Niko Amato, Maryland – Jr., GK
Peter Baum, Colgate – Sr., A
Jesse Bernhardt, Maryland – Sr., LSM
David DiMaria, Lehigh – Sr., A
Tucker Durkin, Johns Hopkins – Sr., D
John Glesener, Army – Soph., A/M
Marcus Holman, North Carolina – Sr., A
Austin Kaut, Penn State – Jr., GK
John Kemp, Notre Dame – Sr., GK
Eric Law, Denver – Sr., A
Brandon Mangan, Yale – Jr., A
JoJo Marasco, Syracuse – Sr., M
Kieran McArdle, St. John’s – Jr., A
Brian Megill, Syracuse – Sr., D
Steve Mock, Cornell – Sr., A
Rob Pannell, Cornell – Sr., A
Mason Poli, Bryant – Sr., LSM
Scott Ratliff, Loyola – Sr., LSM
Mike Sawyer, Loyola – Sr., A
Tom Schreiber, Princeton – Jr., M
Logan Schuss, Ohio State – Sr., A
Lyle Thompson, Albany – Soph., A
Ty Thompson, Albany – Jr., A
Dillon Ward, Bellarmine – Sr., GK
Jordan Wolf, Duke – Jr., A
— ND —