DENVER, Colo. – The Regis University women's lacrosse team comes off a 2015 season that saw them reach the championship game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) tournament. The increased success over the past few years is expected to continue this season as Regis returns ten starters, and four other experienced contributors to the team for 2016.
After finishing the 2015 season 12-5 including a 5-1 record in conference, the RU returners earned a great deal of experience including advancing to the RMAC Tournament Championship game where they fell to eventual champion Lindenwood University. This year, Regis plans to avenge their championship loss by making a return trip to the RMAC Tournament in search of a different result.
The coaches across the RMAC picked the Rangers to finish second in the conference while the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) gave the team a preseason ranking of No. 19 across all of Division II.
Junior defender Katie Coleman (Broomfield, Colo.) made an impression among the coaches in the conference last season as she was picked as the Preseason RMAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year for 2016. Coleman will bolster a defense that ranked third in the RMAC in goals against average in 2015.
Junior Erin Steiner, ranked second on the team with 47 points in 2015, returns to assume control of the offense, filling the void left behind by 2015 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year, Emily Behr. Steiner was also named to the Preseason All-RMAC First Team. Steiner scored 37 goals last season and tallied ten assists. The midfielder/attacker earned a Second Team All-RMAC selection last season and looks to build upon that honor in 2016.
Senior Emily Elkins also returns to the 2016 Rangers club after contributing 33 points to the team last season. The senior has earned notoriety from the league as she was named to the Preseason All-RMAC First Team. Elkins scored 26 goals in 15 games and also notched seven assists on the season. Elkins finished the season with a shot on goal percentage of 85.1 percent, ranking second on the team. The midfielder/attacker was awarded First Team All-RMAC honors while also being named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year award for her efforts in the classroom where she bolstered a 3.98 GPA.
Goalkeeper Kenley Harrington returns for her sophomore season after compiling a 7-2 record in 2015. Harrington made 56 saves in 15 games as a freshman giving her a 35.9 percent save percentage, including a goals against average of 9.12. The goalkeeper earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week last season, after earning a 14-8 victory over Colorado Mesa University on February 21.
Three other players were named to the Preseason All-RMAC First Team including senior attacker Hilary Duda (Minnetonka, Minn.), and sophomore defender Jada Bonner (Denver, Colo.). The five Preseason All-RMAC honorees will be looked upon to groom the newcomers into the successful, and winning culture of RU women's lacrosse.
Filling the shoes following the loss of reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Year is not easy. However, with ten newcomers to the team that should make the transition much easier. Of the ten newcomers, seven of them play the attack position.
The Rangers have added seven freshman including attacker Grace Rosenthal (Columbus, Ohio), midfielder Erin Dooney (Portland, Ore.), attack Wendy Donier (Seattle, Wash.), midfield/attack Payton Randle (Durango, Colo.), attack Sarah Myres (Boulder, Colo.), defender Frannie Krupp (Littleton, Colo.), and goalkeeper Hope Correia (Portland, Maine). Also joining the team are two sophomore transfers midfield/attack Rachael Walker (Littleton, Colo.), and defender Koneta Karns (Littleton, Colo.).
RU is set to begin their season on Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. in Grand Junction, Colo. against the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks. The first home game of the season will be Sunday, March 13 at 11 a.m. against Lock Haven.
