Jenn Russell sat in the trainers' room prepping for another day of practice on the lacrosse field at the University of North Carolina when the phone alerted her of a text message.
It was her roommate, congratulating her on being one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the best female and male college lacrosse players in the country.
It's lacrosse's Heisman Trophy, its Hobey Baker Award.
"I was shocked," said the former Brooks standout from Andover. "To be considered is such a huge honor. I was really surprised. I never expected it."
Russell, a returning first-team All American, has scored 32 goals in 19 games as a starting midfielder this season for the Tar Heels, who face five-time defending national champion Northwestern in the NCAA Division 1 semifinals tomorrow.
Russell's lacrosse career, which started on a whim, has grown almost as rapidly as the sport itself the past decade.
As an eighth grader, she had never touched a lacrosse stick. A year later she was starting for Brooks' varsity squad while also starting for the basketball and soccer teams.
"I played basketball and soccer growing up," she said. "At Brooks, you were required to play sports so I decided to give lacrosse a shot. It looked like fun."
And ever since she cradled her first pass, she found she had a knack for it.
"It's such an exciting game," she said. "I drew a lot from basketball and soccer, too. Obviously I took a lot of the conditioning from soccer, running the field, and was able to use that playing lacrosse. Also, when you're playing defense in lacrosse it's very similar — your stances and motions — to playing defense in basketball, so that was sort of a natural transition for me."
Russell has noticed a spike in interest in the sport as well.
"Lacrosse has always been huge in certain areas," she said. "In Maryland, down south, it's huge. But now it's starting to get bigger everywhere. More people want to be involved."
The Wall Street Journal published an article last May that said participation among high school athletes has risen 528 percent in the past two decades. In 2008, over 140,000 high school students were playing lacrosse while in 2003, when Russell was a freshman at Brooks, that number was around 85,000.
"The pace draws in a lot of people," she said. "I think people are attracted to the skill, speed and the scoring. As more people play the game you can see that there are better players playing, too. It's really exploded in popularity the past few years."
When Russell heads to Washington on June 3 for the Tewaaraton banquet, she'll be joined by the nation's best.
But before that, the Tar Heels, the third seed, will play in the Final Four tomorrow against second-ranked Northwestern (19-1).
The winner will face either top-seed Maryland or Syracuse in the national championship on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports.
Russell is joined by Katy Fitzgerald, a former North Andover defenseman, on the UNC roster.
"This is the craziest it's been for me in terms of sports," said Russell. "But it's a lot of fun. It's always a lot of fun."
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