SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Jackie Wolak continues to write her name into history as a five-year member of the University of Notre Dame’s women’s lacrosse program. After a strong fifth season with the Irish in which she leads the team in nearly every scoring category and ranks among the nation’s best in points, points per game and goals, Wolak has been named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, presented annually to the top collegiate lacrosse player. Wolak joins the likes of Crysti Foote, Jillian Byers and Barbara Sullivan as Irish Tewaaraton Finalists, and is the first since Sullivan was honored in back-to-back years (2015 & 2016).
“Jackie is a special player and so deserving of this recognition,” head coach Christine Halfpenny said. “Her selfless play and team-first mentality is inspiring to the entire team. She makes us better every day. We’re all so very proud of Jackie.”
The graduate attacker was named to the award’s watch list prior to the start of the season before going on to earn numerous accolades over her final season with the Irish. The 2024 ACC Attacker of the Year and First Team All-ACC honoree, Wolak leads the team with 92 points and currently ranks second all-time in career points at Notre Dame. This season she has helped the Irish to one of the top-rated offenses in the nation as they average 16.61 goals per game while outscoring their opposition by a 7.72 margin. Her 54 goals and 38 assists also both lead the team while her point total ranks fifth nationally and leads the ACC.
In 18 games started this season, Wolak is averaging 5.11 points per game and has scored 3+ goals in 11 games this season, six of which came against conference foes and one of the nation’s toughest schedules. With five game-winning goals this season, Wolak is tied for a team-best in the category. Perhaps most notably, she scored the game-winning goal over No. 1 Northwestern when they clashed inside Loftus Sports Center in mid-February. The win was the team’s first over a top-ranked team in program history.
In the team’s final game of March, Wolak tied a program single-game record with six assists while adding five goals to come one point shy of the Notre Dame record for points in a game. The 11-point performance led her team to a 26-5 victory and capped off a 6-1 record in March, including three road wins over ranked teams.
Earlier this season she became just the third woman in program history to eclipse 300 career points and now boasts 323 for the Blue and Gold.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Wolak boasts 17 multi-point games with her lone single-point game coming in a loss to then-No. 13 Virginia.
The Tewaaraton committee will host its five female finalists at the end of the month with the winner named at the award ceremony following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.