November 19, 2007

ALL-NCAC FIELD HOCKEY SQUAD ANNOUNCED;
CASANTA, LEGG COLLECT TOP HONORS

Click for Full Team (.pdf)

CLEVELAND -- Wittenberg freshman forward Tori Casanta (Mason, OH/Cor Jesu Academy) and Kenyon junior back Perrin Legg (Baltimore, MD/Bryn Mawr) have been named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year to highlight the 2007 All-North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey selections.

Casanta finished the season with 12 goals and six assists for 30 points over 19 games (1.58 ppg). She helped the Tigers to a share of North Coast title, Wittenberg's eighth overall and first since 2004.

Legg started 22 of the Ladies' 23 games this season and was the anchor of a defensive unit that posted a league-best seven shutouts and a 1.39 goals-against average. Kenyon also claimed a share of the NCAC crown, its first ever. This marks her second straight first-team appearance, and her third overall All-NCAC nod after earning honorable mention honors in 2005.

Three players repeat as first-team selections after earning first-team recognition in 2006. Denison senior Read Powel (Shaker Hts., OH/Hathaway Brown) makes her fourth straight appearance on the All-NCAC team, and third on the first team. She was a second-team choice in 2004. Oberlin junior Abigail "Prunie" Brox (Manchester, MA/St. George's School) also makes her third straight appearance on the first team.

Three other players move up to the top squad after earning second-team accolades a season ago. Ohio Wesleyan seniors Diana Boryczewski (Kensington, CT/Kingswood Oxford) and Katie Jones (Pine Plains, NY/Stissing Mountain), and Wooster senior Kate Persing (Canton, CT/Kimball Union, NH) all move up from the second team. Jones earns her fourth all-conference certificate after also earning first-team recognition in 2005 and honorable mention status in 2004.

Three players made the jump from honorable mention in 2006 to the first team in 2007. Earlham sophomore Cassie Gage (West Carrolton, OH/Fairmont), Kenyon senior Caroline Graham (Chadds Ford, PA/Westminster) and Denison senior Carter Hartung (St. Louis, MO/Whitfield School) each make their first team debut. Graham also earned second team honors in 2004, while Hartung was a second-team choice in 2005.

Newcomer of the Year honors went to Wittenberg freshman Boo Vernon (Lake Bluff, IL/Cushing Academy), who led the NCAC in scoring with 18 goals and three assists for 39 points and and a 2.05 scoring average.

Wittenberg's Diana Kuser and Ohio Wesleyan's Marge Redmond were voted Co-Coach of the Year. Both win the award for the first time. Kuser guided the Tigers to a share of their eighth North Coast championship and first since 2004. Wittenberg finished 12-7-0 overall and 8-4-0 in the conference. Kuser is 33-22 (.600) in her three seasons at the helm of the Tiger program. Redmond guided the Battling Bishops to a 10-7-0 overall record, 7-5-0 in the NCAC, good for a fourth-place tie. The Bishops made a huge turnaround as they improved from a 4-10 record and a sixth-place finish (3-9) in 2006. Redmond is 44-89 (.331) in her eight seasons as the OWU head coach.