West Babylon’s Sam Apuzzo (Boston College) wins Tewaaraton Award
Boston College's Sam Apuzzo drives on the net during the second half of the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse semifinal at LaValle Stadium on Friday. Credit: Daniel De Mato
Boston College junior Sam Apuzzo (West Babylon) was named the 2018 Tewaaraton Award winner Thursday night during a ceremony held at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.
Apuzzo beat out Stony Brook’s Kylie Ohlmiller (Islip), Maryland’s Megan Whittle, North Carolina’s Marie McCool and James Madison’s Kristen Gaudian for college lacrosse’s version of the Heisman Trophy, given annually to the top men’s and women’s player in the nation.
Yale’s Ben Reeves was named the male recipient of the award. The other finalists were Duke’s Justin Guterding (Garden City), Denver’s Trevor Baptiste, Maryland’s Connor Kelly and Loyola’s Pat Spencer.
Apuzzo led Boston College (22-2) to the NCAA championship game, which the Eagles lost to James Madison, 16-15. She set single-season program records for goals (88), points (129) and draw controls (163) and was named the ACC Attacker of the Year.
Known for her prowess on the draw and speed in the open field, Apuzzo likely secured the award with a dominant showing during the NCAA semifinals and final at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. She scored the tiebreaking and game-sealing goals in a 15-13 win over top-seeded Maryland, then had three goals and four assists in the championship game. She is Boston College’s first Tewaaraton winner.
Apuzzo is the first non-Maryland player to win the women’s award since West Babylon’s Shannon Smith, now the Hofstra women’s lacrosse coach, won it in 2011.
