April 29, 2010

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University women's lacrosse junior Karli Brentlinger/Gambrills, Md. (South River) has been named the National Lacrosse Conference (NLC) Player of the Year as well as Midfielder of the Year after a vote by the league's head coaches. Longwood head coach Missy Ackerman received Co-Coach of the Year honors, sharing the award with Jacksonville University's Mindy McCord. The Lancers placed three student-athletes on the All-NLC First Team and three more on the All-NLC Second Team in addition to four members on the NLC Academic Honor Roll. The top-seeded Lancers (8-8, 6-0 NLC) are set for the NLC Tournament and will face the winner of #4 University of Detroit Mercy (6-10, 3-3 NLC) and #5 Presbyterian College (3-12, 2-4 NLC) on Saturday, May 1, at 1 p.m..

Karli Brentlinger led the Lancers to the best record in the NLC this season and was third in the conference with 49 goals and fourth with 55 points. She earned NLC Player of the Week honors twice during the season, on April 11 and April 18 and was also named the NLC Midfielder of the Year. Brentlinger scored a career-high seven goals against Lafayette (4.24) and has 10 hat tricks this season.

Ackerman shares the Coach of the Year honors after leading the Lancers to an 8-8 overall record and perfect 6-0 mark in conference play.

Earning a spot on the All-NLC First Team were Brentlinger, junior midfielder Kesley Dean/Centreville, Md. (Queen Anne's) and senior defender Christine Comeau/Whitby, Ontario (Sinclair Secondary School). Dean is third on the team with 38 points, including 24 goals and 14 assists. Comeau has scored one goal with one assist from her defensive position with 21 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.

The Lancers placed three players on the All-NLC Second Team, with seniors Page Farmer/Richmond (St. Catherine's) and Carlie Nethken/Hanover, Md. (Long Reach) and junior Cara O'Brien/Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) earning spots on the squad. Farmer led Longwood with 25 assists and added 10 goals while O'Brien was second on the team with 38 goals and nine assists for 47 points. Nethken has scored 10 goals with six assists for 16 points and has added 27 ground balls, 23 draw controls and a team-high 17 caused turnovers.

Longwood also had four student-athletes earn Academic All-Conference honors. Comeau (Physical Education/Special Education) and sophomores Katie Carbiener/Orlando, Fla. (Olympia) (Kinesiology/Biology), Jess Rudloff/West Chester, Pa. (West Chester East) (Exercise Science) and Sam Stifler/Jarrettsville, Md. (North Harford) all maintained at least a 3.40 GPA while contributing to the team.

Other major award winners include Howard University's Desiree Cox as Attacker of the Year, Davidson College's Lily Graham as Defender of the Year and Davidson's Michelle Pav as Goalkeeper of the Year.