Sheridan of Colby Chosen as Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. - Colby junior midfielder Kate Sheridan (Hingham, Mass.) has been named the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. Sheridan helped the Mules win the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship last weekend - the program’s first NESCAC title - and earn a spot in the 2008 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament. She is the first Colby player to receive the conference’s top honor.

The 2006 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, Sheridan was also selected to the All-Conference First Team for the second-straight spring, as she was one of three returning members from the 2007 First Team. Sheridan currently leads the league in scoring, tallying 51 goals and 31 assists for 82 points through 17 games, an average of 4.82 points per game. During Sunday’s championship against Trinity, Sheridan reached 200 career points with a four-goal performance in the 14-12 victory and now stands at 140 goals and 60 assists through her three years, just 22 points shy of the Mules’ all-time mark. Sheridan is within striking distance of two Colby single-season records, needing only three more goals and seven more points to set new standards in both categories. The two-time All-American also has a conference-best 67 draw controls entering Wednesday’s NCAA action.

Trinity senior attacker CJ Yanofsky (Needham, Mass.) joined Sheridan in earning All-NESCAC First Team honors for the second year in a row. After having a career-year with 68 points on 38 goals and 30 assists in 2007, Yanofsky has taken her game to another level in 2008 as she ranks first in the NESCAC in goals with 54 and is second behind Sheridan in overall points with 75. Yanofsky has also netted a conference-high 13 free position goals on 16 attempts. Pacing Trinity in scoring for the third consecutive season, she became the sixth player in program history to achieve 200 career points during the Bantams’ first round victory over Bowdoin on April 27.

Moving up from last year’s Second Team to this year’s First Team was Amherst junior attacker Amy Craig (Denver, Colo.). Craig is first for Amherst and ranks fifth among all conference players in goals with 43, accumulating 51 points and 27 draw controls while starting all 16 of the Jeffs games. Receiving All-NESCAC honors for the first time were a pair of attackers in the midst of career years, senior Katherine Entwisle (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) of Middlebury and junior Becky Julian (South Windsor, Conn.) of Colby. Entwisle is currently averaging 3.0 goals per game (2nd NESCAC) with a personal-best 42 goals and 46 points in 2008. After missing the first two games of the year while leading the Mules to the final of the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship, Julian has flourished during her third season with the women’s lacrosse team. Julian’s 62 points shattered her previous personal-high of 27 from each of the last two years, and she is currently fourth in the conference in points and tied for third in goals with 44.

Along with Sheridan at midfield on the All-Conference First Team were seniors Reid Berrien (Westport, Conn.) of Middlebury and Bobbi Dennison (Freeport, Maine) of Bowdoin. Berrien has posted a career-high 13 goals this season while leading the Panthers in ground balls (35), draw controls (28), and a conference-best 31 caused turnovers. Dennison, who was honored as a First Team member in 2006, headed up a balanced Polar Bear attack for the second-straight year with 24 goals and 17 assists for a team-high 41 points. Dennison also scooped up 30 ground balls, had 28 draw controls, and 19 caused turnovers.

At defense were a trio of individuals that received All-Conference recognition for the first time. Williams junior Elizabeth Burns (Dover, Del.) ranks third in the NESCAC in both ground balls (42) and draw controls (34) and sixth in caused turnovers (23), scoring a goal for the Ephs along the way. Amherst junior Catherine Calvert (Lawrenceville, N.J.) is tied for first in the conference in ground balls with 46 and is also tied for second in caused turnovers with 26. Colby senior Jamie Enos (South Hamilton, Mass.) joins Burns and Calvert among the league leaders with a team-high 34 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers while recording a goal for the conference’s best offense.

Rounding out the 2008 NESCAC All-Conference First Team were senior goalkeepers Linda McEvoy (Rochester, N.Y.) of Amherst and Michelle Smith (Wayland, Mass.) of Trinity. McEvoy (13-3) heads up one of the NESCAC’s top defenses with a league-leading .565 save percentage and a goals against average that is second among conference netminders at 7.42. Smith, who received All-NESCAC honors for the third year in a row, has played every minute of every game in net for the Bantams, recording an 11-6 record with a 10.48 goals against average and a .548 save percentage.

NESCAC Rookie of the Year went to Trinity first year attacker Rachel Romanowsky (Hampstead, N.H.). Romanowsky, who also earned a spot on the All-NESCAC Second Team, leads all first year players in scoring and is third in the conference overall with 41 goals and 22 assists for 63 points in 16 games. She has also garnered 32 draw controls and 16 ground balls in helping the Bantams reach the final of the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship for the first time in program history.

Colby head coach Karen Henning was the choice among the coaches and was honored as NESCAC Coach of the Year. In her initial season at the helm of the Mules, Henning has guided her club to a 12-5 record along with the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse crown, the first in school history.

2008 NESCAC Women's Lacrosse All-Conference Team