The Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award, annually honoring the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States.
The five finalists will attend the 16th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony June 2 in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
The four other finalists are junior attack Dylan Molloy of Brown, junior attack Connor Cannizzaro of Denver, senior midfielder Myles Jones and sophomore attack Ben Reeves of Yale.
Landis is only the fifth defensive player named a Tewaaraton finalist—following Joe Fletcher of Loyola in 2014, Joel White of Syracuse in 2010 and 2011, Ken Clausen of Virginia in 2010 and Brodie Merrill of Georgetown in 2004 and 2005. No defenseman has won the award.
Landis was named the top defensive player nationally in 2015 by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016. He is a returning first-team USILA All-American from 2015—and a two-time member of the All-ACC Team (2015 and 2016).
Landis has started all 14 games for the Irish in 2016, helping the Notre Dame defense rank among the best in the country (7.64 goals per game). He has contributed 31 ground balls and leads the team with 18 caused turnovers.
Notre Dame defeated Air Force 15-7 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend and will face Notre Carolina in the quarterfinals on Sunday, May 22.
The 6-2, 195-pound Landis is a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business.
He is in his fourth season as a starter for Notre Dame.
In March, Landis was a first-round pick (third overall selection and first defenseman picked) by the Florida Launch in the 2016 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.
Landis and Irish teammates Sergio Perkovic and Matt Kavanagh were among 25 Tewaaraton nominees in 2016. Kavanagh was a Tewaaraton finalist in 2015. Notre Dame’s Tom Glatzel also was a finalist in 2001.
For more, check this story from LaxLessons.com.
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