If accolades were bricks, midfielder Miles Whitman ’04 could build herself a house.

On March 5, Whitman was nominated as one of the 21 female candidates for the third annual Tewaaraton Award, the most coveted and prestigious award in collegiate lacrosse.

“I was definitely shocked and not prepared to hear the news,” Whitman said. “It is a big honor to have been considered, and it’s a great boost for the program, as well as for myself.”

Ever since she first put on the Yale blue and white, Whitman has been a standout in the Ivy League. As a rookie sensation, Whitman became one of the league’s most prolific scorers with 35 goals and 40 total points. For her performance, she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, a Second Team All-Ivy selection, and a Second Team Regional All-American.

“Since the first day she came in here, she’s been amazing everyone with how fast she can be,” teammate Sarah Queener ’03 said. “On track workouts during practice, other people can beat her. But when it comes to game time, and she has the ball in her stick, she just seems to fly down the field.”

Last season, Whitman continued to impress. Her 39 goals and six assists earned her a spot on the All-Ivy First Team.

Although the 2003 season is only two weeks old, Whitman has already shown she has no intention of disappointing. In Yale’s Ivy League opener against University of Pennsylvania March 22, Whitman scored four consecutive times in the first half to give Yale a 5-3 lead. Ten days earlier against nationally ranked No. 10 Notre Dame, Whitman scored three goals back-to-back to end the first half.

“She’s a hard and concentrated worker, and she’s great at capitalizing on the defense’s weak points,” Queener said. “When we need a goal, a go-to goal, one option for us is to get the ball to [Whitman] and just clear out.”

The Tewaaraton Trophy is presented annually following the collegiate season to the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse players in the country and is considered the lacrosse equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy.

If Whitman does bring home the Tewaarton Trophy, she would not be the only winner. Scholarship money is also given to the general scholarship fund of the recipient’s university.

The Tewaarton Trophy was first established by the Tewaarton Award Foundation in conjunction with the University Club of Washington, D.C. on Aug. 29, 2000. Every qualified male and female college varsity player in Divisions I, II and III is eligible for the Award, and nominations are requested from all varsity coaches. A selection committee comprised of coaches for both male and female candidates oversees the voting process. Five finalists for both the men and women will be announced in May, and the official award ceremony will take place June 4, at the University Club.