The men’s lacrosse team recently had three of its All-American midfielders named to the 2013 Tewaaraton Award watch list that honors the top collegiate lacrosse players, which is the largest number of DU athletes named to the list in a single season in program history.
Seniors Chase Carraro and Cameron Flint, along with junior Jeremy Noble, were all recognized last week by the Tewaaraton Foundation as contenders for the prestigious award. The Tewaaraton Award is annually given out to the NCAA men’s and women’s lacrosse player of the year.
“It’s an honor, because you’re getting named with some of the best players in the country,” said Flint. “Right now, it’s a preliminary list, but even just to be recognized and have the opportunity to be on the list with these players, I mean that’s an honor in itself. I’m excited about it; hopefully I play well enough where I can keep myself on the list.”
The men’s list is currently at 92 names and will continue to grow as the season progresses. In late April, a selection committee comprised of top collegiate coaches will shorten the list to 25 men’s and women’s nominees. In mid-May, the top five men and women will be announced and the winners will be recognized May 30 in Washington, D.C.
“The Tewaaraton Award is one of the most prestigious honors a collegiate lacrosse player can be considered for,” said head coach Bill Tierney. “Jeremy, Chase and Cam are all true representatives of our program as great players and great young men.”
To remain on the list, the players will have to continue to play at a high level throughout the rest of the season.
“I’m definitely honored to be mentioned alongside Cam and Chase, and especially everyone else on that list,” said Noble. “But all I’m worrying about right now is game week and weekend games. I’m not worrying about any individual goals; we’re a team and we have one goal for the whole season.”
Noble finished third on the team in points and goals last season and was named USILA Third Team All-America, while Flint, a two-way midfielder, was named USILA All-America Honorable Mention. This season, Noble leads the team in groundballs and has scored seven points for the team. Flint is third on the team with assists and has scored five goals this season.
“If you look at the other two guys, I would definitely say that they’re all-around players,” said Flint. “Jeremy is all over the field, and Chase dominates the X, so I think just being able to contribute with them and their efforts is probably what got me there.”
Last season, Carraro was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Specialist of the Year and was selected to all-ECAC first team as a specialist and second team as a midfielder. He also tallied 33 goals and 11 assists and finished eighth in the nation in face-off win percentage. This season, Carraro is second on the team in face-offs with a .421 win percentage, despite only playing two games. He is currently out temporarily due to a knee injury and senior Chace Calkin has stepped in for him.
“We’ve continued to do better and better and have had really successful seasons,” said Carraro. “Winning big games and having games on TV where me, Cam and Jeremy have played well has really helped to put us in the national spotlight a little bit more, so that definitely helps. I’ve done well individually in some of the bigger games we’ve had, so that helps out my cause a lot too.”
The recognition these players are receiving is also benefiting the lacrosse program as a whole, according to Tierney.
“The University of Denver is proud that our program has reached a level that three of our players are on the Tewaaraton Watch List,” said Tierney.
With the rest of the season ahead of them, the players said they are also looking forward to where the program is headed.
“It’s huge for this program to show that we’re bringing quality players into this program and we’re turning good players into great players,” said Noble. “That’s a testament to how good our coaching staff is and how hard they work with us and how hard we work as student athletes. But I think it’s a big turning point, and there’s great things to come for this whole program.”
