February 9, 2012
Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevemarovich@tds.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: http://athletics.carthage.edu/index.aspx
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Women’s Lacrosse Falls to Adrian, 25-4, in the MWLC Tournament Championship;
Second-Place Lady Reds Finish 2011 Season with a 9-9 Record
2011 MWLC Tournament: The Carthage College women’s lacrosse team (9-9, 6-1 Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference) ended its 2011 season on Saturday, April 30 with a 25-4 loss to Adrian College (16-4, 7-0 MWLC) in the championship game of the inaugural Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference Tournament at Adrian’s Multisport Performance Stadium in Adrian, Mich. Second seeded Carthage upended third-seeded Trine University (7-6, 5-2 MWLC), 15-5, on Friday, April 29 in the tournament semifinals, while top-seeded Adrian (15-4, 7-0 MWLC) pounded fourth-seeded North Central College (7-7, 4-3), 22-4, in the other semifinal game on Friday.
2011 NCAA Championship: Adrian College (16-5) received an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship, but the Bulldogs lost to Gettysburg College (15-4), 25-10, in a first-round game.
Last Year: Carthage went 5-11 in its inaugural season of 2010.
All-Conference Team: Eight Carthage players were named All-Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference. Defender Rachel Newill (Fr., Waterford, Mich./Kettering, 25 ground balls), midfielder Olivia Nino (So., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill, 19 goals, 5 assists, 23 ground balls), midfielder Michelle Tumberger (Jr., Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator, 18 ground balls), attack Sydney Whitaker (Fr., Bainbridge, Wash., 33 goals, 9 assists, 15 ground balls) and midfielder Hannah Sopeth (Jr., Lakeville, Minn./North, 35 goals, 14 assists, 23 ground balls) were named first-team All-MWLC. Midfielder Maya Varma (Fr., Burlingame , Calif., 33 ground balls), attack Natalie Ceis (So., Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep, 25 goals, 8 assists, 22 ground balls) and attack Anna Schweiss (Fr., Parker, Colo./Chaparral, 30 goals, 3 assists, 11 ground balls) earned second-team all-conference honors. Varma was named the league’s “defensive player of the year,” Whitaker the “rookie of the year,” and Lauren Hume the league’s “coach of the year.”
The Polls: Defending-national-champion Gettysburg College (17 first-place votes) was ranked first in the pre-season 2012 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, followed by the College of New Jersey (3 first-place votes) second, the State University of New York-Cortland third, national-runner-up Bowdoin College fourth, Franklin & Marshall College fifth, Salisbury University sixth, Hamilton College seventh, Trinity College eighth, Middlebury College ninth and Colby College ranked 10th.
The Conference: Carthage helped inaugurate the Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference in 2011. The eight charter members are Adrian College, Albion College, Carthage College, Fontbonne University, Concordia University (Wis.), the College of Mount St. Joseph, North Central College and Trine University. Augustana College (Ill.), Aurora University, Beloit College and Benedictine University (Ill.) will join the circuit in 2013, with the University of Dubuque and Elmhurst College being added in 2014. Meanwhile, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has announced that the MIAA will begin sponsoring women’s lacrosse as a league sport in 2013. As a result, Adrian, Albion and Trine will leave the MWLC after the 2012 season. Beginning in 2014, the MWLC will be an 11-team circuit. The MWLC coaches picked Adrian (five first-place vote) to repeat in 2012, followed by Carthage (1 first-place vote) second, Trine third, North Central (Ill.) fourth, Fontbonne fifth, Albion sixth, Concordia (Wis.) seventh and Mount St. Joseph eighth.
The NCAA Division III Lacrosse Picture: A total of 196 schools sponsor women’s lacrosse at the NCAA Division III level as of the 2009-10 season. The NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship, which began in 1985, was a 26-team, single-elimination event in 2009. Of those 26 teams, 15 were representatives of leagues with Pool A automatic qualifiers. There were five Pool B teams and six Pool C teams in the 2009 championship. As an independent, Carthage College is eligible for a Pool C, at-large berth in the 2010 season.
Carthage Adds its 24th Sport: Carthage College adds its 24th varsity sport in 2010, as the women’s lacrosse team began its first year of varsity competition. Men’s lacrosse began in 2009. Head women’s coach Lauren Hume has been on board at Carthage since November 2008. The Lady Reds will play a 16-game schedule in 2010, all against NCAA Division III opponents “It’s a great honor to be a part of the Carthage College Department of Athletics,” says coach Lauren Hume, “and to be surrounded by successful coaches, athletes and teams from 24 sports. Carthage provides the Lady Reds lacrosse program with the same level of support that has helped build this tradition of sports excellence. Like all other teams at Carthage, it will be our goal to compete at the conference, regional and national level.”
Live Video: Four of Carthage’s home games at Art Keller Field feature live video steaming. Those four games are Fontbonne University on March 24, North Central College on April 11, Trine University on April 28 and the College of Mount St. Joseph on April 29. A page of links to each event is available at http://live.carthage.edu. Virtually all of the streams are also featured at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/carthage-athletics
2011 Midwest Women’s Lacrosse Conference Tournament Notes: In the win over Trine University in the semifinals, the second-seeded Lady Reds led the third-seeded Thunder, 9-3, at halftime, and Carthage scored five unanswered goals at the start of the second half to take an 11-point lead, 14-3. The Lady Reds out-shot the Thunder by a 29-19 margin. Natalie Ceis (So., Seattle, Wash./Seattle Prep) led Carthage with four goals. Anna Schweiss (Fr., Parker, Colo./Chaparral) and Sydney Whitaker (Fr., Bainbridge, Wash.) added three goals each, with Rachel Newill (Fr., Waterford, Mich./Kettering) collecting five ground balls. Kayla Grieser and Shelly Raupp had two goals each for Trine…in the championship game, Carthage was trailing by just a goal, 3-2, in the early going, before Adrian ran off seven unanswered goals to take 10-2 lead. The Bulldogs led the Lady Reds, 14-2, at halftime, and outscored Carthage, 11-2, in the second period. Adrian out-shot the Lady Reds, 42-19. Rachel Johnston led the Bulldog attack with seven goals, while Amanda Lambert had six goals and two assists..Lindsey Day added three goals and two assists, while Stacey Birlson had one goal with four assists. Olivia Nino (So., Pleasanton, Calif./Foothill) had two of Carthage’s four goals.