WASHINGTON, May 29, 2014 – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced University at Albany attackman Lyle Thompson, University at Albany attackman Miles Thompson, and University of Maryland midfielder Taylor Cummings as the winners of the 14th annual Tewaaraton Award, presented Thursday, May 29th, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse players in the United States.

A Tewaaraton Award finalist for the second consecutive year, Albany attackman Lyle Thompson led the nation with 77 assists and 128 points. The junior from Onondaga Nation, New York, surpassed Steve Marohl's 22-year single-season Division I points record (114, 1992) and matched Marohl's single-season assists mark (77, 1992). He quarterbacked Albany's top-ranked offense to the NCAA quarterfinals, becoming the only Division I player ever to record two 100-point seasons (113, 2013). He received the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award for Outstanding Player of the Year, and his second consecutive USILA Lt. Col. J.L. (Jack) Turnbull Award for Outstanding Attackman. He also collected USILA All-America first team, America East Player of the Year and first team All-America East honors for the second year in a row. Lyle joined brother Miles as the first brother duo to be named Tewaaraton finalists in the same year.

Part of perhaps the most prolific attack combination in NCAA history, Miles Thompson ranked first in the nation in goals with 82. He too exceeded Marohl's single-season scoring record and trails only his brother Lyle for the Division I record with 119 points. The senior from Onondaga Nation, New York, played his way to first team All-America East honors for a second consecutive season and earned America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. The first team USILA All-America honoree recorded four or more points in 17 of 18 games this season as Albany advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. His 82 goals matched Yale's Jon Reese (1990) for the all-time single-season record, and his 293 career points rank tenth all-time.

This year marks the first time the Tewaaraton Award has been given to two recipients in the same year. Lyle and Miles are Albany's first Tewaaraton Award winners, and the second winners from the America East Conference, following Doug Shanahan (Hofstra, 2001). Lyle and Miles Thompson are the sixth set of teammates to be named finalists in the same season for the award, most recently following Syracuse University's John Galloway and Joel White (2011).

"The Tewaaraton Award is built on a mission to celebrate excellence in the game, recognize the game's Native American heritage and to give back in a meaningful way to the Native American community," said Jeffrey T. Harvey, chairman of the Tewaaraton Foundation. "We are also committed to a set of values that brings honor to the game today and to the heritage of the sport. First and foremost, we are proud to recognize these worthy players, the first Native American recipients of the Award."

"As this is unprecedented, we note that the Selection Committees are made up of the 10 active coaches and are overseen by a chairperson. It was determined by the committee to have these two individuals share the game's top award. Their vote was unanimous. We applaud the committee for their commitment to the true purpose of The Tewaaraton Award as it is profoundly meaningful that these two record-breaking players - teammates, brothers and members of the Onondaga Nation - are symbolic of the game, its heritage and its future."

Each year, the Tewaaraton Award celebrates one of the six tribal nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora – and presents scholarships to two students of Iroquois descent.

The 2014 Tewaaraton US Lacrosse Native American scholarships were awarded to Alie Jimerson and Kason Tarbell.

It is the first time someone from Akwesasne has been awarded the scholarship. Tarbell is a member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the son of Tina Tarbell and Will Whelan. He has been playing varsity lacrosse at Salmon River Central School for four years and is team captain. Tarbell recently received a slew of awards including the NYS Section X All American Award, Academic All Northern and Section X All Northern. He also plays lacrosse for the Akwesasne Indians Jr. B team, and has been since 2012, and Sweetlax Lacrosse. Tarbell, who will play at Cornell in the fall, also has a 4.0 grade point average.

 Jimerson is a member of the Cayuga Nation, Bear Clan, and a two-time captain at Lake Shore (N.Y.) High School. She will play at Albany in the fall, and has already played for the Haudenosaunee Nation in last summer's FIL World Cup.

Miles Thompson and Lyle Thompson are the first Native American recipients and also the first recipients to share the Tewaaraton Award. Photo courtesy of Rob Tarbell.

The objective of the Tewaaraton Outstanding Native American Scholarship is to recognize and reward exceptional students' academic and athletic achievement.  All awards are based on the merits of academic achievement, athletic performance and ambition. Additionally, nominees are asked to articulate what lacrosse means to them as a student, an athlete, and a member of their community.