University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Tabbed Second in A-10 Preseason Poll
02/01/2018 | Women's Lacrosse
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The Atlantic 10 head women's lacrosse coaches aren't counting out the Spiders this season.
The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team was picked to finish second by the league's head coaches in the 2018 A-10 Preseason poll, trailing nine-time defending champion UMass by just two points.
Following a record-breaking season, the Spiders earned four first-place votes in the poll, which was released by the conference office on Thursday afternoon. The squad returns nine starters from last season's team that went 14-6 and fell by just one goal in the A-10 title game.
Key returners for the Spiders include 2017 First Team All-Atlantic 10 honorees Kim Egizi and Megan Gianforte, as well as Second Teamers Marissa Brown and Caroline Queally.
Egizi enters her senior season after hitting the 100-career point, goal, ground ball and draw control marks last year. The attacker finished second on the team with 33 assists and 98 draw controls, and third with 41 goals and 74 points. She currently sits in sixth on the program career assist list with 69 in three seasons.
Gianforte returns for her sophomore campaign after one of the most successful seasons in goal in program history and becoming the first Spider rookie to earn the top conference goalkeeping honor since 2006. Gianforte also earned All-Rookie honors and set a program record with four Defensive Player of the Week nods through 2017. She finished the season with 186 saves, a conference-leading 9.48 goals against average and a .499 save percentage, good for first in the conference and top 10 nationally.
Queally enters her senior season as the No. 3 active player in the nation with 255 career draw controls. She broke her own program season-high last year, collecting 103 draws, and owns the program record for career draw control wins after just three seasons.
Brown made the switch to attack in 2017 and didn't look back, breaking the program record for single-season assists with 44 and leading the conference with 2.20 assists per game. She logged 75 points on the year, good for second on the team and 10th in single-season program history, and hit the 100-career point mark in 2017 in just two seasons.
The Spiders open the 2018 season at Robins Stadium on Saturday, February 10, when they play host to Campbell, facing the Camels for the second time in two seasons. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
2018 ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL
(First Place votes in parentheses)
The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team was picked to finish second by the league's head coaches in the 2018 A-10 Preseason poll, trailing nine-time defending champion UMass by just two points.
Following a record-breaking season, the Spiders earned four first-place votes in the poll, which was released by the conference office on Thursday afternoon. The squad returns nine starters from last season's team that went 14-6 and fell by just one goal in the A-10 title game.
Key returners for the Spiders include 2017 First Team All-Atlantic 10 honorees Kim Egizi and Megan Gianforte, as well as Second Teamers Marissa Brown and Caroline Queally.
Egizi enters her senior season after hitting the 100-career point, goal, ground ball and draw control marks last year. The attacker finished second on the team with 33 assists and 98 draw controls, and third with 41 goals and 74 points. She currently sits in sixth on the program career assist list with 69 in three seasons.
Gianforte returns for her sophomore campaign after one of the most successful seasons in goal in program history and becoming the first Spider rookie to earn the top conference goalkeeping honor since 2006. Gianforte also earned All-Rookie honors and set a program record with four Defensive Player of the Week nods through 2017. She finished the season with 186 saves, a conference-leading 9.48 goals against average and a .499 save percentage, good for first in the conference and top 10 nationally.
Queally enters her senior season as the No. 3 active player in the nation with 255 career draw controls. She broke her own program season-high last year, collecting 103 draws, and owns the program record for career draw control wins after just three seasons.
Brown made the switch to attack in 2017 and didn't look back, breaking the program record for single-season assists with 44 and leading the conference with 2.20 assists per game. She logged 75 points on the year, good for second on the team and 10th in single-season program history, and hit the 100-career point mark in 2017 in just two seasons.
The Spiders open the 2018 season at Robins Stadium on Saturday, February 10, when they play host to Campbell, facing the Camels for the second time in two seasons. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
2018 ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON POLL
| 1. | UMass | 96 (6) |
| 2. | Richmond | 94 (4) |
| 3. | George Mason | 74 |
| Saint Joseph's | 74 | |
| 5. | Davidson | 57 |
| 6. | La Salle | 45 |
| 7. | VCU | 38 |
| 8. | George Washington | 32 |
| 9. | St. Bonaventure | 21 |
| 10. | Duquesne | 19 |
Players Mentioned
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