WISE - - Lacrosse student-athletes at UVA Wise received a plethora of awards when the South Atlantic Conference announced its all-conference honors Wednesday. Senior attacker Jesse French was named SAC Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-SAC while fellow senior Erin Smith earned First-Team All-SAC as a defender. Attacker Sydney Trask, midfielder Mallory Trimble and midfielder Caroline Earnshaw all picked up Honorable Mention All-SAC honors.
The most decorated player in program history, French continues to pile up the awards. The Dumfries, Va. native leads the SAC in assists per game at 3.75 while ranking fourth nationally in the category. The senior also leads the league in points at 70 and ranks ninth nationally in points per game at 5.83.
The all-time program leader in goals (154), assists (135) and points (289), French earned SAC Player of the Week honors three times this season. Her 47 assists this season are the most in any single season in school history while she would also currently break the single-season program and conference record for assists per game.
French currently has a .519 shooting percentage, 27 goals scored, 18 groundballs and six caused turnovers in addition to her 47 assists.
Now a three-time, first-team all-conference performer, French has earned some form all-conference recognition in each of her four collegiate seasons.
A second-team all-conference selection in 2019, Fredericksburg, Va. product Erin Smith picked up first-team all-conference accolades this spring. The defender currently has 20 caused turnovers to go with 35 groundballs.
This season, Smith established the single-game school record for groundballs with seven on two occasions. She first reached the feat in a game with Limestone in early April before also snagging seven groundballs against Lenoir-Rhyne two weeks later.
On the year, Smith has five games where she has at least three groundballs and four games with three or more caused turnovers.
Sophomore Sydney Trask has a team-high 37 goals to date. The Kernersville, N.C. native kept her team's season alive in the quarterfinals of the SAC Tournament with her free position goal with 27 seconds to play in overtime.
On the season, Trask has seven hat tricks, including a career-best six goals in a win over Mars Hill.
Freshman Mallory Trimble is getting better as the season progresses. The Chestefield, Va. product leads the team with 21 caused turnovers, 14 of which have come in the last six games. The midfielder recorded a season-high five groundballs in her team's SAC Tournament win over Lenoir-Rhyne while adding three caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Caroline Earnshaw was on pace for First-Team All-SAC recognition until her season was cut short due to injury. The Round Hill, Va. native appeared in just six games this spring but had already amassed 22 draw controls and 12 goals in the short period of time. It is the second all-conference award for the midfielder who was named first-team all-conference in 2019.
UVA Wise will continue its pursuit of a conference title Friday when the team takes on regular season champion Queens University of Charlotte in the semifinals of the SAC Tournament.
The complete list of this year's award winners may be found below:
2021 All-SAC First Team
A – Annie Plotts, Wingate
A – Jesse French, UVA Wise
A – Britannie Ouimet, Limestone
A – Ally Blood, Queens
MF – Julia Foster, Limestone
MF – Leah Knowles, Wingate
MF – Kyleigh Masteran, Queens
MF – Chloe Wood, Newberry
D – Bailey Stumpf, Limestone
D – Alexandria Allen, Limestone
D – Sydney Hussey, Queens
D – Erin Smith, UVA Wise
GK – Megan Biase, Wingate
All-SAC Second Team
A – Kara Blanchard, Queens
A – Kendall Wells, Wingate
A – Cathleen Gaffney, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Sophie Moore, Newberry
MF – Sydney Bracken, Queen
MF – Sydney Joyce, Mars Hill
MF – Becca Ruiz, Wingate
MF – Shannon Donovan, Queens
D – Sierra Street, Wingate
D – Cassie Lafler, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Caroline Heffner, Wingate
D – Isabelle Dunnam, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Madelyn DeSoto, Limestone
Honorable Mentions
A – Rachel Perrett, Queens
A – Elizabeth Muscella, Limestone
A – Suzy Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne
A – Sydney Trask, UVA Wise
MF – Frances Williams, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Mallory Trimble, UVA Wise
MF – Gracie DePaul, Limestone
MF – Caroline Earnshaw, UVA Wise
D – Madalyn Messersmith, Newberry
D – Grace Guglielmo, Queens
D – Liz Black, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Maren Lawrence, Limestone
GK – Sara Mitrecic, Queens
Offensive Player of the Year
Jesse French, UVA Wise
Defensive Player of the Year
Megan Biase, Wingate
Freshman of the Year
Annie Plotts, Wingate
Coach of the Year
Abby Wiley, Wingate
Statistical Champions
Team Points per Game – Queens, 28.18
Team Caused Turnovers per Game – Limestone, 13.00
Team Ground Balls per Game – Queens, 25.45
Team Scoring Offense – Queens, 18.73
Team Scoring Defense – Limestone, 5.73
Team Scoring Margin – Queens, 11.73
Team Draw Controls per Game – Queens, 17.36
Draw Controls per Game – Juliette Cusano - Tusculum, 7.57
Ground Balls per Game – Alexandria Holleran – Mars Hill, 4.45
Assists per Game – Jesse French – UVA Wise, 3.75
Saves per Game – Aryn Dorr - Catawba, 11.60
Goals-Against Average – Madelyn DeSoto - Limestone, 6.01
Save Percentage – Megan Biase, Wingate, 0.492
Goals per Game – Sophie Moore - Newberry, 4.00
Caused Turnovers per Game – Aryn Dorr - Catawba, 3.20
Points per Game – Britannie Ouimet - Limestone, 6.10
