ROSEMONT, Ill. – After winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, five Terps earned 2018 Big Ten individual honors, as voted on by the league’s six coaches and announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
Senior Megan Whittle was named the Big Ten Attack Player of the Year, junior Julia Braig was named the Defender of the Year, junior Megan Taylor was chosen as the Goaltender of the Year and freshman Grace Griffin was selected as the Freshman of the Year. Whittle, Braig and Griffin were all selected to the All-Big Ten Team last week, while Whittle, Braig and Taylor are all on the Tewaaraton top-25 nominee list. Whittle was named the Big Ten Tournament MVP on Sunday.
Head coach Cathy Reese was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third time in the Terps four years in the conference in a unanimous selection, marking the 10th time in Reese’s career she’s been named conference coach of the year. Under Reese, Maryland has gone 22-0 in Big Ten regular season games and 28-1 against conference opponents as a whole.
One of the most prolific scorers in program history, Whittle leads the Terps and the conference in both goals (74) and points (86), while ranking sixth nationally in goals. The senior broke Maryland’s all-time goal record earlier this season in a win against Ohio State, surpassing lacrosse legend Jen Adams, and currently stands one goal behind Gail Cummings for second all-time nationally, currently standing with 288 goals. In the Big Ten Tournament Championship against Penn State this past Sunday, Whittle set a new career-high with eight goals en route to being named the Big Ten Tournament MVP. With 32 of Whittle’s goals coming on free position, the senior stands third in the country with 1.68 free position goals per game. Whittle has been named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week four times this season.
Braig leads Maryland’s defense, which ranks first in the Big Ten with just 9.68 goals allowed per game. The Reisterstown, Md., native has 24 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers this season. Braig really makes her mark in defending the opponent’s top scorer, helping Maryland hold Big Ten opponents in the regular season to under 10 goals in every game but one.
One of the top goalies in the country, Taylor backlines a defense that has held Big Ten opponents to under 10 goals in every game but one in the regular season. Taylor has recorded 151 saves this season and has posted over 10 saves six times. In conference play, Taylor had a 7.87 goals-against average, the best in the conference. Taylor has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week three times and is one of 25-players nationally on the Tewaaraton nominee list. The Glenelg, Md. native has won the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Award in all three years as a Terp.
As the only freshman starter on the top-ranked Maryland women’s lacrosse team, Griffin has made an impact all over the field, posting 28 goals, seven assists, 35 points, 28 groundballs and 13 caused turnovers. Griffin has posted numerous big performances including a five-point affair against #19 Penn State on April 19th and a four-goal performance in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals against Johns Hopkins. Griffin has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice this season.
Maryland has won the Big Ten Defender of the Year award in each of its four years in the conference, while this is Taylor’s third year in a row winning Goaltender of the Year. Last season, Nadine Hadnagy earned the defensive award while current sophomore midfielder Kali Hartshorn won Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Penn State’s Katie O’Donnell was named the Big Ten’s Midfielder of the Year.
The Terps will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend. Maryland will face the winner of the Denver-High Point first round game on Sunday at noon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
– Maryland –
