Lacrosse Racks Up NEWMAC Postseason Accolades

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (May 6, 2010) – The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) announced its 2010 women’s lacrosse postseason awards yesterday. Miriam Esber was named NEWMAC Coach of the Year after leading Mount Holyoke College to its most wins since the 1995 season. Meanwhile, seniors Peggy Wefald and Perry Markell were voted to the All-Conference First Team, and junior Bianca Young earned Second Team accolades.

Senior Anna Collins was named NEWMAC Player of the Year for the second straight season after leading Babson College to its fourth consecutive tournament championship over the weekend. Fellow Beaver Jamie Spang took home NEWMAC Rookie of the Year accolades, while Smith College received the league’s Sportsmanship award.

Over her first three seasons at the helm, Esber has resurrected a Mount Holyoke program that averaged just four wins in the 12 years prior to her arrival. After suffering through a 2-13 campaign in 2008, her squad improved to 5-11 last spring before exploding for 10 wins thus far this season.

Esber’s Lyons are currently ranked second in the nation in draw controls per game with 19.13. In addition, their 228 goals and 306 draw controls are both program single season highs. Over the course of the year, they have strung together three consecutive victories on two occasions.

With Esber leading the way, Mount Holyoke posted a league mark of 3-3 this season. The Lyons third place finish was their best since the 2000 season. After picking up wins over Wellesley College (19-10), Springfield College (12-11) and Smith College (16-3) during the regular season, they rolled to a 15-6 triumph over Wheaton College in the Quarterfinal Round of the NEWMAC Tournament last Wednesday. It was their first victory over Wheaton since 1998. With the win, they advanced to the Semifinal Round of the NEWMAC Tournament for the first time since the 2006 season.

Esber is the second NEWMAC Coach of the Year in program history. The first was Mike Hyer, who took home the honor in 1993 after his team recorded a school record 13 wins.

Prior to joining the Mount Holyoke staff, Esber served as head coach of the Hartwick College women's lacrosse team for three years. From 2005-07, she guided the Hawks to 20 wins. Her 2006 team captured the NYSWCAA Championship and took second place in the ECAC Upstate Tournament.

No stranger to NEWMAC accolades, Wefald was selected to the All-Conference First Team after earning Second Team accolades in each of her first three seasons in a Mount Holyoke uniform. The midfielder was named NEWMAC Player of the Week on two occasions this spring (4/12, 4/19). She also picked up ECAC New England Offensive Player of the Week honors once (4/12).

Arguably the top offensive player in program history, Wefald has once again been dominant for the Lyons during her senior campaign. In addition to establishing a new program record for goals in a season with 70, she also dished out 14 assists and pulled in 67 draw controls. Four of her tallies have gone down as game winners. The most memorable came in Mount Holyoke’s 12-11 double overtime triumph over Springfield (4/13). After knotting things up at 11-11 in the waning seconds of the first extra session, she found the back of the net for what proved to be the winner 2:40 into the second overtime. Wefald netted three goals or more in 12 of her 16 games this year. She exploded for a career best eight tallies in the Lyons 19-10 triumph over Wellesley (4/10). Her nine points in that contest matched her career high. She was nearly unstoppable in Mount Holyoke’s 15-6 victory over Wheaton College in last week’s NEWMAC Quarterfinals, when she amassed seven goals and a helper (4/28).

Wefald became the first player in program history to reach 200 career goals this season. In 56 games played, she has found the back of the net 224 times and dished out 40 assists. Wefald has been held scoreless just three times in her career. She has registered three goals or more 42 times and five goals or more on 25 occasions. The captain has come up with six game winning goals. Her 244 career draw controls are good for tops in school history.

Markell has enjoyed an outstanding senior season after transferring to Mount Holyoke from Elmira College. One of the Lyons top all around threats, she has piled up 51 points on 42 goals and nine assists in just 16 games played. Markell has established a new program single season record with 139 draw controls thus far this year and is among the national leaders in the category. The midfielder has also registered team highs of 40 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers. She has netted three goals or more on nine occasions this spring. Three of her tallies have gone down as winners.

After boosting the Lyons to a 20-12 triumph over Westfield State College with her six goals (3/11), she piled up 16 draw controls in their thrilling 17-15 win over Keene State College less than a week later (3/17). Markell came up with 14 draw controls and a career best five caused turnovers in Mount Holyoke’s victory over Wellesley (4/10). She then collected a program record 17 draw controls in its 16-3 win over Smith (4/20). Markell finished with three goals, one assist 14 draw controls, six ground balls and five ground balls against Wheaton last week (4/28).

Young has emerged as the Lyons top defender during her junior season. In 15 games played, she has recorded 21 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and a pair of draw controls. In addition to being Mount Holyoke’s quickest defender, she is also its strongest. She has great vision and is usually the Lyons first player to double team in an isolation situation.

Over the course of her career, Young has appeared in and started 47 contests. Her lone goal came in an 18-3 triumph over Anna Maria College last spring (4/24/09). She contributed an assist at Smith in 2008 (4/15/08). Young has totaled 73 ground balls, 54 caused turnovers and 13 draw controls in her career.

Mount Holyoke’s (10-6, 3-3 NEWMAC) outstanding season will likely resume next week. The Lyons are hoping to participate in the either the NCAA Division III National Tournament or the ECAC Division III New England Tournament. In order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, they would need to receive an at-large bid, as only conference tournament champions receive automatic qualification. The NCAA Tournament field will be unveiled Sunday, May 9 at 10:00 p.m. on CBS College Sports Network. ECAC Tournament brackets will be released the following day. Both events are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, March 12. Mount Holyoke, which has never played in the NCAA Tournament, took part in the ECAC Tournament in 1993 and 1994.

2010 NEWMAC Lacrosse All-Conference Team and Award Winners

Player of the Year
Anna Collins, Babson

Rookie of the Year
Jamie Spang, Babson

Coach of the Year
Miriam Esber, Mount Holyoke

Sportsmanship Award
Smith College

First Team All-Conference
Trisha Babson, Babson, M
Anna Collins, Babson, M
Alyssa Hood, Babson, A
Sarah Macary, Babson, GK
Kaitlyn Pettengill, Babson, M
Perry Markell, Mount Holyoke, M
Peggy Wefald, Mount Holyoke, M
Allie Bazzano, Springfield, M
Lauren McAulay, Springfield, GK
Molly Morrow, Wellesley, A
Loretta White, Wellelsey, M
Hailey Colburn, Wheaton, A
Brittany Whynot, Wheaton, M

Second Team All-Conference
Casey Flynn, MIT, A
Erica Little, MIT, A
Alex Wright, MIT, D
Bianca Young, Mount Holyoke, D
Kaitlyn Murdough, Smith, D
Rebecca DiSisto, Springfield, D
Meagan Dobson, Springfield, A
Megan O'Brien, Springfield, D
Jenn Zubkus, Springfield, A
Nicole Labbee, Wellesley, D
Marianna Marcellino, Wheaton, GK