England women’s national team midfielder, Tilly Shires, finished as a runner up for the Sportswoman of the Year award at this year’s British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Awards.
In a virtual presentation held yesterday evening, Tilly was up against Anna Emilie Moller (Athletics, St. Mary’s University) and, eventual winner, Esme Burge (Hockey, University of Nottingham) for the prestigious award.
The award was chosen by a judging panel of 34 people from across the sporting spectrum, including former Wales international lacrosse player and now Senior Sport Empowerment Officer at Stonewall UK, Erin Walters-Williams.
The Sportswoman of the Year award “celebrates the domestic or international success of a student studying at a BUCS member institution. The award recognises the highest possible standard of competition achieved by an eligible female identifying student”.
Tilly, who studied at Durham University before her graduation this summer and was an integral part of their lacrosse team during her three years there as well as their captain, also represents England and has made 13 appearances so far for the national side.
She most recently represented her country at the 2019 Women’s European Lacrosse Championship in Netanya, Israel, where she played in all seven games, scoring nine goals, as England stormed their way to victory in the tournament.
Durham finished top of their league last season and were due to battle Exeter in the Cup Championship Final before coronavirus forced sport to be halted and this was thanks in no small part to captain Tilly who drove the team to success.
England Lacrosse would like to wish Tilly a huge well done for making the final three and we simply cannot wait to see her back on the world stage (hopefully) very soon!
The winners of all the awards can be viewed HERE, including a very special message from Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal!