The honors keep coming for Maryland's Taylor Cummings who adds Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year to her extensive lacrosse resume.
Cummings, a McDonogh graduate who led the No. 1 Terps to their second straight NCAA championship last month, won the Tewaaraton Award and the Honda Award, both as the best player in women's college lacrosse, for the second straight year. Wednesday, she added the Big Ten award in the first year Maryland has been a member of the conference.
"I'm incredibly humbled to be the first-ever recipient of this award in Maryland's inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference," Cummings said in a statement. "There have been so many tremendous female athletes who won this award in the past and I'm honored to be included alongside them. I wouldn't be here without the support of my coaches and teammates, and I want to thank them for helping me achieve these goals."
As a junior, Cummings was the most dominating player in Division I. Her contributions came all over the field as she led the Terps in points (100), assists (37), draw controls (143) and caused turnovers (36). A three-time first-team All American, she was the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, the National Midfielder of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Division tournament.
In the national title game, a 9-8 win over North Carolina, Cummings scored three goals, including the game winner. She also had two assists and seven draw controls. Her ability to control the draw all season was one of the keys to the Terps finishing 21-1 with the 13th national title in program history.
"This is a tremendous honor not only for Taylor and our program, but also for the sport of lacrosse," Maryland coach Cathy Reese said in the statement. "Taylor is very deserving of this award. She has exemplified excellence for our program and is an outstanding leader, student and role model for our team."
Cummings, a two-time Baltimore Sun Female Athlete of the Year while at McDonogh, is a member of the U.S. national team and is aiming for a berth on the team that will compete in the Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup in 2017 in England.