April 22, 2010

Atlantic 10 Lacrosse Awards | Atlantic 10 Championship Central

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle senior Jill Davis and head coach Candace Taglianetti were named the Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Student-Athlete and Coach of the Year, respectively, it was announced today. In the same vote, sophomore Megan Corliss was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and freshman Lauren McDermott was named the A-10 Rookie of the Year. La Salle has now received four student-athlete of the year and three rookie of the year awards in 2009-10, the most in the Atlantic 10 Conference in both categories.

Davis and Corliss were also named to the Atlantic 10 First Team, while McDermott and senior Dorothy Schalleur earned spots on the Atlantic 10 Second Team. Davis also earned recognition on the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team for the second straight season, while McDermott and freshman Melanie Sarcinello were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.

"I am honored to be chosen by my peers, all of whom I have respected for years as both coaches and players," Taglianetti said. "A lot of credit needs to go to my staff for their hard work and dedication."

Davis leads the Explorers in goals (39), assists (14) and points (53) while carrying a 4.0 grade point average as an elementary/special education major. She leads the A-10 in game-winning goals (four) and is fourth in points per game (3.53).

The Folsom, PA native is the first Explorer in women's lacrosse to be named A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year and the fourth this season, joining Shannon Duval (women's swimming), Yves Mekongo (men's basketball), and Morgan Robertson (women's basketball).

In just her second year, Taglianetti led the Explorers to program records for wins (nine) and conference victories (five). She guided La Salle to a program-best second seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship, which begins on Friday with a semifinal match-up with Massachusetts at 3:30 PM on the campus of Duquesne University.

Corliss led the Atlantic 10 in goals against average (9.57) and save percentage (.477) and is ranked in the top 25 nationally in both categories. She is the first Explorer to earn A-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors and is the first La Salle goalie to earn first team all-conference recognition.

McDermott is second on the team in goals (34) and points (39) as a freshman. She earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors three times this season and was named the womenslacrosse.com national rookie of the week on Wednesday. The Lansdale, PA product is ranked fourth for most points and goals scored in a rookie season at La Salle.

Schalleur started all 15 games as a defender and helped the Explorers post the second-best goals against average in the Atlantic 10. She had 16 caused turnovers, which is second on the team this season.

Sarcinello scored 20 goals and added 10 assists as a rookie. She scored the game-tying goals in the final minute in both La Salle victories last weekend over Temple and Massachusetts. The freshman collected 16 ground balls and had 15 draw controls.

Jackie Lyons of Massachusetts was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, while Richmond's Mary Flowers was named the A-10 Midfielder of the Year.

Play begins in the Atlantic 10 Semifinals on Friday at 1 PM when #1 Richmond takes on #4 Temple. La Salle, seeded second, faces #3 UMass at 3:30 PM. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 PM and will be televised on CBS College Sports.