Five Tigers Earn NFHCA All-Great Lakes Region Awards
Five Wittenberg University field hockey student-athletes were rewarded for their outstanding 2010 season with All-Great Lakes Region awards from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Springfield, Ohio — Five Wittenberg University field hockey student-athletes were rewarded for their outstanding 2010 season with All-Great Lakes Region awards from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Boo Vernon, class of 2011 from Lake Bluff, Ill., and Meredith Price, class of 2011 from Highland Park, Ill., were both honored with first-team selections. Tori Casanta, class of 2011 from Mason, Ohio, Jenny Schaafsma, class of 2012 from Grand Rapids, Mich., and Elizabeth Dwyer, class of 2012 from St. Louis, Mo., earned spots on the second team.
Vernon led the Tigers and ranked among the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and NCAA Division III leaders in scoring with 58 total points (26 goals and six assists). Along the way, she broke the school record for career goals with 80 over the last four years, a total that ranks second in NCAC history and among the top 30 in NCAA Division III history. Also credited with a team-high six game-winning goals, Vernon recently earned her fourth straight first-team All-NCAC award, this is her fourth straight first-team All-Great Lakes Region award and she has claimed third-team All-America honors each of the last two years.
Price was the 2009 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time All-NCAC honoree (three times on first team), and she has now earned three all-region awards, including second-team designations in 2007 and 2009. She was credited with five assists to tie for second on the team, and she led the Tigers with five defensive saves. She spearheaded a defensive unit that made great strides in 2010, finishing with seven shutouts and just 25 goals allowed in 19 games.
Casanta added 20 goals and three assists for 43 total points to finish her illustrious career in the Red & White with 72 goals, good for No. 3 in school history. She finished her career with three first-team All-NCAC designations and a second-team award in 2010, and three second-team All-Great Lakes Region honors.
Dwyer finished third on the team for a second straight year with 14 goals and 33 total points. Four of her goals were game-winners, and she also added five assists, second-most on the team. Dwyer was a first-team All-NCAC and first-team all-region honoree a year, and she followed that with second-team all-conference in 2010.
Schaafsma is making her first appearance on the all-region honor roll after making first-team All-NCAC in 2009 and 2010. She started all 19 games in goal in 2010, making 132 saves with a .846 saves percentage and a 1.68 goals against average, which ranks 24th among active NCAA Division III goalkeepers.
The Tigers won the 2010 NCAC regular season championship with a program-best 11-1 record. Overall, Wittenberg finished 15-4 after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to arch-rival Wooster in the NCAC Tournament title game, setting a school record with 79 goals in the 19 games.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photos By: Erin Pence
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