By: Jake Miller
HARTSVILLE, S.C.- Seven Coker women's lacrosse players were named All-Conference selections, along with head coach Kate Keagins being named Coach of the Year, the league announced today.The league's full release can be viewed here.
Faith Kent was named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and a first team All-SAC selection. Marabeth Durden was named to the All-SAC first team as a midfielder, while Kaitlyn Kimball was named to the All-SAC first team as a defender.
Haley McCusker was named to the All-SAC second team as an attack, while Mackenzie Baker was a second team All-SAC selection at the midfield. Lindsay Ordemann was selected to the All-SAC second team as a defender.
Claudia Jenkins was named to the All-SAC honorable mention team as an attack.
Kent has played and started in all 17 games this year for the Cobras. She has tallied a conference-best 95 points on 49 goals and 46 assists. The sophomore has collected 35 draw controls, scooped up 27 ground balls, and caused 13 turnovers. Nationally, Kent is sixth in assists with 46. She is also third in points with 95, fourth in points per game at 5.58 and 10th in assists per game with 2.71. Her points per game mark was good enough to win the conference statistical championship. She had a hand in re-writing the Coker record books, as she shattered both the single-season points record and the single-season assists record. This is Kent's second career all-conference selection. Kent, a Winter Springs, Fla. native is the daughter of Phyllis Kent, and is currently undecided on a major.
Durden has played and started in all 17 games for Coker this season. The senior has contributed on both ends of the field, scoring 35 goals and dishing out 16 assists for 51 total points. Her points total is 14th in the conference, while her 16 assists are tied for 10th. Durden's 67 draw controls are third in the conference, along with 53 ground balls holding the same rank. She has also caused 30 turnovers, good for third in the league. This is Durden's third consecutive all-conference selection. The Orlando, Fla. native is the daughter of Michael Durden, Mitzi Sheppard, Karl Sheppard, and Lisa Durden, and is an early childhood education major.
Kimball has played and started in all 17 games this season for the Cobras. The senior leads the team and the conference in caused turnovers with 52, and now owns the career and single-season records for caused turnovers at Coker. She is ranked No. 4 nationally in caused turnovers per game with 3.05. She was also the SAC statistical champion in caused turnovers per game with 3.00. Kimball is also seventh in the conference with 46 ground balls. She has also contributed three goals and one assists for four total points on the year. This is her third career all-conference selection. The Winter Springs, Fla. native is the daughter of Ronald and Emily Kimball, and is a physical education major.
McCusker has played and started in all 17 games this season for the Navy and Gold. The junior leads the team and the conference with 67 goals, and is third in the league in points with 75. Her point total is 13th-best across the nation. She is also sixth in the nation in goals per game with a mark of 3.94. McCusker also broke the single-season goals record at Coker this season. This is her second career all-conference selection. The Warwick, R.I. native is the daughter of Lynn and James McCusker, and is undecided on a major.
Baker has played in all 17 games this season, making 17 starts. She has scored 23 goals and dished out seven assists, for a total of 30 points. She has collected 25 ground balls, won 49 draw controls and caused 14 turnovers. Her 49 draw controls are tied for seventh in the conference. This marks Baker's fourth consecutive all-conference selection. The Orlando, Fla. native is the daughter of Wayne and Debbie Baker, and is a communications major.
Ordemann has played and started in all 17 games for Coker this season. She has scored three goals for three total points. Ordemann has scooped up 43 ground balls, the 10th-highest total in the conference, while being ranked 14th with 39 draw controls. She has caused 26 turnovers on the year, which is tied for sixth in the league. This is Ordemann's second consecutive all-conference selection. The Toms River, N.J. native is the daughter of Charles and Susan Ordemann, and is a physical therapy major.
Jenkins has played in 16 games for the Navy and Gold, making 16 starts. She has scored 40 goals, the 11th-highest total in the league, while dishing out 13 assists for 53 total points. She has collected 19 ground balls, 14 draw controls and caused 12 turnovers. This is her third consecutive all-conference selection. The Keedysville, Md. native is the daughter of Kimberly Thrasher and Joseph Melody, and is a biology major.
Under Kate Keagins in her first year as head coach, Coker finished with the third best league record at 6-2 to claim the No. 3 seed for the South Atlantic Conference tournament. The Cobras are second in the league in goals scored with 247, second in the league in goals per game with 14.53 and they lead the conference in caused turnovers with 200. Coker was also named the SAC team statistical champion in draw controls per game with 13.94. Nationally, the Cobras rank 15th causing 11.47 turnovers per game. They are also 22nd in the nation putting up 20.29 points per game. Coker is in the top-30 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense, scoring 14.53 goals per game (21st) and allowing just 8.76 goals per game (22nd). Keagins coached seven all-conference selections this season.
The Cobras host Tusculum in a South Atlantic Conference quarterfinal on Tuesday (Apr. 25) at 3:00 p.m.