PHILADELPHIA – The Tewaaraton Foundation has announced the five finalists for the prestigious Tewaaraton Award in both men's and women's lacrosse, and University of Pennsylvania senior midfielder Sam Handley is one of the five finalists on the men's side. He is the first player in program history to be named a Tewaaraton finalist.

Presented since 2001, the Tewaaraton Award is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award in college lacrosse, annually honoring the top male and female players in the United States. The other men's finalists are UNC's Chris Gray, Army's Brendan Nichtern, Virginia's Connor Shellenberger, and Maryland's Logan Wisnauskas. Handley is the only midfielder in the group; the other four are attackmen. The Tewaaraton Award for both men and women will be presented on Thursday, June 2 during a ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Click here for the Tewaaraton Foundation release

Handley has already been named the Ivy League Player of the Year and first-team All-America by USA Lacrosse Magazine this season and was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection. He leads Penn with 33 assists and 66 points, the 66 points putting him third on Penn's single-season list and the 33 assists seventh. Handley also has 33 goals, which is 11th on Penn's single-season list. Despite playing essentially just two full seasons with the Quakers, Handley is already 13th on the program's all-time list with 132 career points.
 
Handley has recorded at least three points in all but one game this season, that coming when he recorded two against Saint Joseph's on April 26. Last weekend, the senior middie earned all-tournament honors at the Ivy League Tournament after he led the Quakers to the championship with 12 combined points (7 in the semifinal vs. host Brown, 5 in the final vs. Yale). On March 19, Handley recorded 11 points in Penn's 21-20 overtime loss at Princeton, dishing out eight assists which was one shy of the program's single-game record set by Richard Bennett in 1969.
 
Penn (10-4) is the third seed in this year's NCAA Championship and hosts Richmond in a first-round game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. That game will take place on Dunning-Cohen Champions Field in Penn Park, as the Quakers' regular home field (Franklin Field) is offline due to the University's Commencement ceremonies.