Trevor Baptiste’s torrid stretch of faceoff excellence may very well make him the first specialist — and in fact, the first player who does not predominantly play offense — to win the prestigious Tewaaraton Award. The junior has won 44 of 49 faceoffs, an unheard-of 90 percent, in Denver’s two NCAA tournament victories over Marquette and Notre Dame.
Baptiste’s latest masterpiece, a 21-for-22 performance Saturday in the Pioneers’ 16-4 thrashing of Notre Dame in the NCAA quarterfinals, has earned him the Epoch/US Lacrosse Player of the Week honor for the second time this season. Baptiste also was recognized for a 23-for-28 showing against Villanova in April.
But this is next-level stuff. Baptiste has won at least 20 faceoffs in six of his last nine outings, and his 13 ground balls Saturday bumped his career total to 475. That’s No. 5 all-time in NCAA history.
Baptiste lost the first faceoff, and then reeled off 21 unanswered wins.
“It just gives our team all the confidence in the world when Trevor’s winning like that,” Denver attackman Austin French said.