Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University head women's lacrosse coach Katy Phillips announced her incoming freshmen class of 15 student-athletes today.
"We needed a large class this year to boast our numbers and, in addition, we needed a lot of depth at a variety of positions," said Phillips. "We needed to look at kids who would have the ability to come in and contribute immediately at any level on the field and at any spot on the field."
Student-athletes from Maryland dominated the incoming freshman class with six new Colonials hailing from the Free State. The remaining nine incomers are quite diverse coming from Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The freshman class of 2011 also features three student-athletes from teams ranked in the ESPN Rise Top 25 in 2010. Here is a look at each of the new Colonials.
Jenna Carey
Fr., 5-4, Defense
Marriottsville, Md.
Liberty
Carey helped Liberty to the state quarterfinals where they fell to Winters Mill, 13-12. Liberty finished 2010 ranked No. 24 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 (a ranking of the top 50 women's lacrosse team's in the nation) with three off its four losses coming to teams ranked in the national top-three. Carey won four Monocacy Valley Athletic conference titles with the Lions and made the Maryland 2A Regional finals in 2008 and 2009. She earned varsity letters in both basketball and lacrosse and captained her lacrosse team in 2010.
Personal: Ken and Donna Carey and Kevin and Maria Rark are parents to Carey. She has five siblings four older - Bethany, Brandon, Aaron and Tiffanie - and a twin sister, Brooke. Her sister Bethany played lacrosse at The Ohio State University and her twin sister Brooke will play for Stony Brook.
Rachel Cox
Fr., 5-7, Defense
Pasadena, Md.
Chesapeake
Cox helped her club team, Chesapeake Club Lacrosse, to the National Draw tournament title in 2008. She earned second-team All-Anee Arundel County honors in 2010.
Kaleigh Gibbons
Fr., 5-6, Midfielder
Candia, N.H.
Manchester Central
Gibbons scored 213 goals and assisted on 58 during her high school career, with 86 of those goals coming in her final season with Manchester Central. She earned 11 varsity letters, four in lacrosse, four in cross country and three in basketball. Gibbons earned all-state honors in 2009 and 2010, while serving as her team's captain in final two seasons.
Personal: Gibbons is the daughter of Kathy and Howard Gibbons. She has two older siblings, Ali and Ryann. Ali played lacrosse at Robert Morris from 2006-10 and ranked third on the team in scoring in 2010. Her older sister, Ryann, plays soccer for Cuesta College and she has two cousins who participate in college athletics (Kevin -Football-Curry College, Ben-Rugby-Nichols College).
Hillary Gutherie
Fr., 5-4, Defense/Midfield
Owings, Md.
Northern
Gutherie netted 19 goals and led the Northern Patriots in forced turnovers and assists in the 2010 season. She served as her team's captain in 2010 and helped the Patriots to a 4-8 record. Gutherie earned all-county honors her senior season and was voted as the conference's player to watch in each of her final two seasons. She earned academic all-conference honors in all four of her seasons. She earned three varsity letters in both soccer and lacrosse.
Personal: Gutherie is the daughter of Scott and Kristine Gutherie and has one younger sibling, Scott. Gutherie is also a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.
Cara Hernandez
Fr., 5-5, Attack
New Albany, Ohio
New Albany
Hernandez helped New Albany to four consecutive Ohio Capital Conference titles and three state titles. Hernandez led New Albany to a record of 76-9 in her four seasons. She earned second-team all conference honors as freshman and first-team honors in her final three years. Hernandez picked up first-team All-Ohio honors in her final two seasons. She earned four varsity letters in women's lacrosse and four in soccer.
Personal: Hernandez is the daughter of Richard and Georgianna Hernandez and has two younger siblings, Katie and Lixza.
Elyse Lapham
Fr., 5-6, Midfield
Germantown, Md.
Clarksburg
Lapham led Clarksburg in scoring in all four of her high school seasons. She earned the team's most valuable player award three times and spent 2009 and 2010 as the team captain. She found the net more than 100 times in her career and scored 44 of her team's 78 goals during her senior season.
Personal: Lapham is the daughter of Jac Lapham and Margaret McGrath and she has two older siblings, Kerry and Caitlyn. Her cousin, Kyle McNamara, plays collegiate lacrosse for Delaware, while another cousin, Connor McNamara, plays college football at Bryant.
MacKenzie Lawler
Fr., 5-4, Midfielder
Okemos, Mich.
Okemos
Lawler helped Okemos to back-to-back division II Michigan high school state titles in 2009 and 2010. She earned second team all-state honors as a freshman and first-team all-state accolades in her final three seasons. She earned academic all-American honors in both 2009 and 2010. Lawler helped the Chiefs to consecutive perfect seasons in 2009-10, sending the Okemos to a 54-0 record in her final two campaigns. In her final high school game, the 2010 Michigan division II state title game, Lawler scored or assisted on 11 of Okemos 20 goals. Her eight assists were a championship game record. During her high school career, Lawler scored 165 goals and passed out 181 assists. She earned nine varsity letters in high school with four in lacrosse, three in basketball and two in volleyball.
Personal: Lawler is the daughter of Charles and Karen Lawler and she has an older brother Stephen.
Katelyn McAleer
Fr., 5-2, Midfield/Attack
Gaithersburg, Md.
Good Counsel
McAleer helped Good Counsel to four consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. She also took Good Counsel to No. 6 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 poll. Good Counsel ranked first in the state of Maryland in 2010 in scoring and second in the state in fewest goals allowed. In addition to lacrosse, she also played soccer for Good Counsel.
Personal: McAleer is the daughter of Robert and Kathleen McAleer and has four siblings two older (Bobby and Megan) and two younger (Joe and Tommy).
Kaitlin Pentz
Fr., 5-9, Goalkeeper
Sykesville, Md.
Century
Pentz helped Century to a 17-2 record in her final season and a No. 11 ranking the in the ESPN Rise Fab 50. The Knights claimed the Maryland state title class 3A-2A in all four of her high school seasons. Pentz earned academic all-American honors from US Lacrosse in 2010. She earned first-team all-conference honors in 2008 and 2009. Pentz posted a .520 save percentage in her senior season. She earned scholar-athlete awards in three sports all four years for a total of 12. She earned varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse.
Personal: Pentz is the daughter of Randy and Rose Pentz with one older sibling, Ryan, who plays college football at Wagner College. She was coached by her mother, Rose, who has won five state titles as head coach of the Century girls lacrosse team. Pentz holds a black belt in karate.
Lauren Roberts
Fr., 5-7, Midfield
Baldwinsville, N.Y.
C.W. Baker
Roberts helped C.W. Baker to the Central New York Counties League Section 3 Class AA Lacrosse League Championship. She earned varsity letters in both lacrosse and soccer and helped the girls' soccer team to Central New York Counties League Section 3 Class AA Championship.
Hillary Sullivan
Fr., 5-4, Midfield / Attack
Mentor, Ohio
Lake Catholic
Sullivan holds Lake Catholic school records for most points in a career, most goals in a single season, most goals in a single game and most goals in a career. She helped the Cougars to a record of 44-19-2 in her four seasons. Sullivan guided Lake Catholic to the conference crown in 2008. She earned six varsity letters in high school, four coming in lacrosse and two in volleyball.
Personal: Sullivan is the daughter of Barry and Cindy Sullivan.
Emily VanDyne
Fr., 5-6, Midfield/Attack
Webster, N.Y.
Webster Thomas
VanDyne racked up 111 goals and 27 assists in her four seasons with Webster Thomas. She netted 51 goals in her final season with the Titans, the second-highest single season goal total in school history. She earned four varsity letters in lacrosse. VanDyne led her team as captain in her senior season. She picked up academic all-American honors her junior and senior seasons and the New York State Scholar Athlete Awards in all four of her high school seasons. She earned first-team All-Monroe County honors in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Personal: VanDyne is the daughter of Janice and Bill and has two older siblings, Jen and Chuck.
Stacy Wade
Fr., 5-4
Canandaigua, N.Y.
Canandaigua Academy
Wade helped Canandaigua Academy to the semifinals of the Class B New York State Tournament and a 19-2 overall record in her senior season. During her time at Canandaigua, Wade earned US Lacrosse Academic All-American honors and helped the Braves to back-to-back state title games.
Personal: Wade is the daughter of Steve and Kathy Wade and she has one older sibling, Ryan.
Talia Waskowicz
Fr., 5-9, Midfield
Pittsburgh, Pa.
North Allegheny
Waskowicz earned two varsity letters playing for North Allegheny. She was a member of the US Lacrosse 2009 Western Pennsylvania Division National Tournament Team. Waskowicz collected 64 goals, 43 draw controls and 32 ground balls in her senior season, helping the Tigers to an 8-7 record. She earned the most valuable player award in the Western Pensylvania Division I all-star game.
Personal: Waskowicz is the daughter of John and Judy and has an older sibling, Caz.
Nicole Yursha
Fr., 5-5, Midfield/Attack
Manasquan, N.J.
Wall Township
Yursha ranks as Wall's all-time leading scorer with 168 goals and 82 assists. She led Wall Township to its first trip to the Shore Conference Tournament and its first birth in the New Jersey state playoffs. Yursha became the first freshman in school history to earn All-Shore Conference honors in 2007. She earned seven varsity letters at Wall Township with four coming in lacrosse and three in soccer.
Personal: Yursha is the daughter of James and Jacqueline Yursha and has two siblings, one older, Kristin, and one younger, James.
