We’ve come to the end of the Nike / US Lacrosse Magazine Virtual NCAA Tournament.

Thanks to the help of @uslacrossemag Twitter followers, both the Syracuse men and women were crowned virtual NCAA champions. We received 103,202 votes and generated over 1.8 million impressions across both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and the buzz generated gave us some memorable moments, throwbacks and playful banter.

The end of the tournament gives us the opportunity to hand out a few superlative awards to players and teams that helped make this tournament fun to follow.

And the winners are …

Best Performance in a Social Media Video

Molly Carter, Syracuse

Carter, a junior attack, encouraged Orange fans to vote with this *candid* video of her preparing a bowl of cereal.

Was hoping to get some luck from some lucky charms, but they weren’t very good. Making a case for Syracuse to win the Virtual National Championship! @USLacrosseMag VOTE CUSE pic.twitter.com/5gybu0q6Jf

— Molly Carter (@molly11carter) May 4, 2020

Honorable mention: Maddie Howe, Notre Dame

Howe’s “juice the ‘Cuse” rallying cry helped the Irish make this a thrilling championship poll.

Maddie Howe with an early case for Virtual Championship Game MVP with this message to ND Nation pic.twitter.com/KmmW3X0O33

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) May 2, 2020

Best Use of .Gifs

Penn State and Princeton Men’s Lacrosse

It was the (Nittany) Lions against the Tigers, and the .gifs were flying back and forth between these two incredibly successful programs. Penn State got the better of Princeton in the final vote, but didn’t we all win thanks to this exchange?

pic.twitter.com/3a4nVC71Cm

— Princeton Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) April 17, 2020

Best Cinderella Story

The Michigan fanbase came out strong to vote for the Wolverines. The women’s team advanced to the tournament quarterfinals after defeating No. 6 Northwestern, but Michigan ultimately fell just short against eventual runner-up Notre Dame in the quarters. The Wolverines were involved in three of the eight best performing women’s polls.

Best Throwback Video

The Marist men went back into the vault to highlight a 2013 game against Saint Joseph’s, the Red Foxes’ opponent in the men’s play-in game of our virtual tournament. Marist advanced to the first round.

Last time @Marist_MensLax and St Joes squared off...2013 at St Joes....Gannon Osborn with the toe drag heard around the rocking #34 pic.twitter.com/2KtznKs2hT

— Marist Lacrosse (@Marist_MensLax) April 6, 2020

Games We Would’ve Liked to See in Real Life

Penn State vs. Princeton men

Grant Ament versus Michael Sowers? Sign us up.

Loyola vs. Notre Dame women

Two teams that shattered expectations in 2020. This would’ve been a candidate for game of the year.

Biggest Statement Win of the Tournament

Fans, we heard you. You thought the North Carolina men should’ve been seeded higher in the tournament. The Tar Heels supported that claim by topping No. 8 Maryland in the first round before running into a buzzsaw in eventual champion Syracuse.

Play-In Pandemonium

There were three play-in games (one men’s, two women’s), and the results showed that these fanbases were passionate. There were 7,830 votes cast in these three games, and all of the fan votes were as close as could be.

Marist vs. Saint Joseph’s men: Marist wins, 52.5% - 47.5%
Mount St. Mary’s vs. Monmouth women: Mount St. Mary’s wins, 51.2% - 48.8%
Mercer vs. High Point women: High Point wins, 50.4% - 49.6%

Most University Athletics Support

Sure, Syracuse swept each tournament, but let’s take a second to recognize Notre Dame Athletics. What seemed like every single one of the university’s athletics programs shared the poll and encouraged fans to vote for the Fighting Irish. Not to mention the laundry list of big names — Dick Vitale and Mike Golic Jr. chief among them — who encouraged voters.