BEREA, OHIO – The 2016 Baldwin Wallace University women's lacrosse team will compete in its fourth season, including its third Ohio Athletic Conference campaign, and hopes to capture its first OAC title this spring.
Fourth-year Head Coach Kim Russell returns 10 letter winners, including eight starters and two first-team All-OAC student-athletes, from last year's squad that finished 8-6 overall and advanced to the OAC Championship game. She also has a group of newcomers who have the talent and ability to help this spring.
This season, the Yellow Jackets were picked to finish third in the OAC and leading the way at the midfield position is junior first-team All-OAC and OAC Defensive Player of the Year Maddie Russell goals and tallied up 46 points. She also led the team with 52 groundballs. Along with Russell, junior All-OAC second-team selection Katie Kocher (Rocky River) is another strong midfielder. Kocher was an All-OAC second-team selection. She led the team with 31 assists and was second on the team with 24 caused turnovers.
At attack the combination of sophomore Caitlin Wheeler (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park-River Forest) and senior Emma Harding (Akron / Richfield Revere) look to build on their success from a year ago. Wheeler was second on the team with 28 goals and 34 points. Harding was tied for third on the team with 24 goals and 33 points.
Defensively the Yellow Jackets with count on seniors Tia Esbenshade (Wooster) and Taylor Giordanengo (Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley). Esbenshade caused six turnovers and picked up seven groundballs. Giordanengo caused seven turnovers and seven groundballs.
Rounding out the returnees are senior Emily Tallmadge (Fairview, Pa.), junior Jenna Turner (Carmel, Ind.), and sophomores Lauryn Wright (Orville), Erica Eyerman (North Olmsted / Magnificat), and Kayla Miller (Hudson).
In addition, look for freshmen Hannah Albrechta (Uniontown / Green) and Hannah Fredriksen (Hamburg, N.Y.) to make an immediate impact on the field.
BW opens the season when it travels to Oberlin to face off against Oberlin College inside the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex on Dick Bailey Field at 6 p.m.