JMU's Warden Highlights WLAX Postseason Honors
Kelly McCarthy
RICHMOND, Va. (May 4, 2017) – No. 19/20 James Madison junior
Haley Warden was named the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Year while Hofstra University’s
Alyssa Parrella was the unanimous choice for CAA Rookie of the Year in a vote of the league’s seven head coaches. No. 17/18 Towson University freshman
Olivia Conti was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year while James Madison Head Coach
Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe was selected as CAA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Warden, who earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team as a midfielder, has done a little bit of everything in the midfield for the Dukes. She’s tallied 22 goals to go along with a team-best 56 draw controls, 47 ground balls and 40 caused turnovers. The junior was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week three times and the CAA Player of the Week once this season. This is the second-straight season in which a Duke has been named CAA Player of the Year and JMU’s fifth in the last six seasons.
Parrella, who was named to the All-CAA First Team and All-Rookie team as a midfielder, had a phenomenal debut season for the Pride, leading the conference with 76 points on 47 goals and 29 assists. The five-time CAA Rookie of the Week is currently ranked 14th in the nation in points per game (4.75) and 18th in total points. Parrella is Hofstra’s third-ever CAA Rookie of the Year honoree, joining Becky Conto (2013) and Kimberly Hillier (2004) in that exclusive club. In addition, she is the program’s first freshman to earn first-team honors since Hillier in 2004.
Conti becomes the first freshman in league history to earn CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors. She was also named to the All-CAA First and CAA All-Rookie teams. Conti started all 17 games for the Tigers and recorded 45 caused turnovers, two shy of the CAA single season record. Nationally, Conti is sixth in caused turnovers per game (2.65).
Klaes-Bawcombe picked up her fourth CAA Coach of the Year honor after guiding the nationally-ranked Dukes to an 11-6 overall mark, a 5-1 league record and the CAA regular-season championship. JMU is second in the league in scoring with 12.88 goals per game and second in goals against average (8.59). Klaes-Bawcombe, who became JMU’s all-time winningest coach, was previously named CAA Coach of the Year in 2005, 2010 and 2016.
Towson had four All-CAA First Team selections, including Conti. Joining her were junior midfielder
Kaitlyn Montalbano (41g, 11a), sophomore attacker
Natalie Sulmonte (41g, 75dc) and junior defender
Tianna Wallpher (45gb, 36ct). For the Dukes, attacker
Kristen Gaudian (42g) and midfielder
Elena Romesburg (29g, 44gb) joined Warden on the first team. Elon junior attacker
Stephanie Asher (53g, 10a) and senior goalie
Rachel Ramirez (8.38 GAA) earned a spot on the first team while William & Mary defender
Abby Junior (56gb, 46ct) and Delaware midfielder
Becky Gohsler (34g) rounded out the group.
The
2017 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship gets underway on Friday, May 5 with top-seeded James Madison taking on fourth-seeded Delaware at 4:00 p.m. That game is followed by a 6:30 p.m. match-up between second-seeded Towson and third-seeded Elon. Both games will be streamed live on
Lax Sports Network. The two winners advance to Sunday's championship game which will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network (ASN) at 1:00 p.m. and will be streamed via
CAA.tv and the CAA.tv Roku app. For television clearance information,
CAASports.com/ tvinfo. For complete tournament information, including tickets, live statistic links, live broadcast information, event highlights, and daily game recaps, visit
CAASports.com/wlax. Be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (
@CAASports) using the #CAAChamps, and on Snapchat (caasports) for game day coverage.
| 2017 All-CAA Women’s Lacrosse Teams |
| First Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Stephanie Asher |
Elon |
Jr. |
A |
Glenelg, Md. |
| Kristen Gaudian |
James Madison |
Jr. |
A |
Fairfax Station, Va. |
| Natalie Sulmonte |
Towson |
So. |
A |
Levittown, N.Y. |
| Becky Gohsler |
Delaware |
Jr. |
M |
Mendham, N.J. |
| Kaitlyn Montalbano |
Towson |
Jr. |
M |
West Islip, N.Y. |
| Alyssa Parrella |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
M |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Elena Romesburg |
James Madison |
Jr. |
M |
Chalfont, Pa. |
| Haley Warden |
James Madison |
Jr. |
M |
Glen Mills, Pa. |
| Olivia Conti |
Towson |
Fr. |
D |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Abby Junior |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
D |
Wayne, Pa. |
| Tianna Wallpher |
Towson |
Jr. |
D |
Ellicott City, Md. |
| Rachel Ramirez |
Elon |
Sr. |
GK |
Lindenhurst, N.Y. |
Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Samantha Brookhart |
Towson |
Sr. |
A |
Ellicott City, Md. |
| Katie Kerrigan |
James Madison |
Jr. |
A |
Oakton, Va. |
| Sloane Kessler |
Elon |
Sr. |
A |
Owings Mills, Md. |
| Nadia Pelham-Lacey |
Drexel |
Jr. |
A |
Maplewood, N.J. |
| Carly Tellekamp |
Towson |
So. |
A |
Hauppauge, N.Y. |
| Emily Gillingham |
Towson |
Jr. |
M |
Kitchener, Ontario |
| Coley Ricci |
Delaware |
Sr. |
M |
Garnet Valley, Pa. |
| Drew Shapiro |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
M |
Bedford, N.H. |
| Mary Abram |
Delaware |
Sr. |
D |
Wilmington, Del. |
| Rebecca Tooker |
James Madison |
Jr. |
D |
Eastport, N.Y. |
| Eva Winiarski |
Drexel |
Sr. |
D |
Downingtown, Pa. |
| Alexis Zadjura |
Elon |
Jr. |
D |
Woodstock, Md. |
| Taylor Carpentier |
Delaware |
Jr. |
GK |
Garden City, N.Y. |
All-Rookie Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Sami Chenoweth |
Towson |
Fr. |
D |
Manchester, Md. |
| Olivia Conti |
Towson |
Fr. |
D |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Mia DeRuggiero |
Delaware |
Fr. |
M |
Baltimore, Md. |
| Courtney Dietzel |
Drexel |
Fr. |
M |
Doylestown, Pa. |
| Emma Johnson |
James Madison |
Fr. |
D |
Laurel, Md. |
| Christine Long |
Delaware |
Fr. |
A |
Mendham, N.J. |
| Alexa Mattera |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
M |
East Islip, N.Y. |
| Maddie McDaniel |
James Madison |
Fr. |
M |
Severna Park, Md. |
| Alyssa Parrella |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
A |
Miller Place, N.Y. |
| Sydney Rausa |
Delaware |
Fr. |
A |
Ambler, Pa. |
| Darcie Smith |
Hofstra |
Fr. |
M |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
|
|
|
|
|
2017 CAA Player of the Year: Haley Warden, James Madison
2017 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Olivia Conti, Towson
2017 CAA Rookie of the Year: Alyssa Parrella, Hofstra
2017 CAA Coach of the Year: Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe, James Madison |
All-Academic Team |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Position |
Hometown |
| Maddie Dickman |
Towson |
R-Fr. |
M |
Eldersburg, Md. |
| Julia McGrath |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
D |
Glen Mills, Pa. |
| Maura McNutt |
Delaware |
So. |
M |
Millstone Township, N.J. |
| Dominique Nyzio |
Drexel |
Jr. |
D |
Lafayette Hill, Pa. |
| Elena Romesburg |
James Madison |
Jr. |
M |
Chalfont, Pa. |
| Stephanie Thomson |
Elon |
Jr. |
M |
Weston, Conn. |
| Elena Schorr |
Hofstra |
Jr. |
M |
Medina, Ohio |