GRAND LAKE, Colo. - The IWLCA has honored 224 student-athletes in Division III with a selection on one of the All-Regional teams for 2012 and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) had eight student-athletes represented on the elite squads.
The SCAC had four first team selections to the All-West Region team, led by SCAC Offensive and Defensive Players-of-the-Year, Grace Maloney and Abby Fink, both of Colorado College
Maloney (pictured right), a senior midfielder from Wilmette, Ill., was at the top of the SCAC in nearly every offensive statistical category. A two-time First Team all-SCAC performer and three-time IWLCA All-Region selection, Maloney was second in the league in assists (26), third in points (73) and tied for fifth in goals (47) in her final season for the Tigers. Maloney led the conference with 26 points in SCAC contests, and helped guide Colorado College to a 15-3 overall record, 4-1 in SCAC play and the school's first-ever conference title. Maloney's career SCAC totals in goals scored (83), assists (41) and points (124) places her among the league's all-time leaders in each category.
Fink, a junior goalkeeper from Plymouth, Minn., led the SCAC in nearly every goalkeeping statistical category. A two-time First Team all-SCAC performer and two-time First Team IWLCA All-Region selection, Fink led the conference in goals-against-average (7.74), saves (162), wins (15) and winning percentage (.833). She was second in the league with a .536 save percentage and anchored a defense that was tops in the conference in goals-against-average.
Joining Malone and Fink on the West Region First Team was Colorado College senior defender Bailey Terhune and Sewanee senior midfielder Meg Welton.
Terhune, a First Team All-SCAC honoree, finished second to Fink on the team in ground balls (50) and led the Tigers in caused turnovers (23) by a wide margin. She directed the defense and set the tone with a very aggressive style, and, accoring to head coach Susan Stuart, "Has been one of the best captains in the history of our program."
Welton, a four-time IWLCA All-Region selection and two-time First Team All-SCAC honoree, led the conference in goals (64), free position goals (19) and points (85). Additionally, Welton was second in the league in draw controls (78) while ranking inside the top-10 in four other statistical categories. In total, Welton notched 227 career goals and holds the Tiger career and single-season records for goals, shots, shots-on-goal and draw controls.
The SCAC also had four Second Team All-West region selections.
Sewanee had two of those four selections: Page Carpenter and Molly Farmer.
Carpenter, a senior attacker, earned the accolade after she led the league in assists (34) while ranking seventh in points (60). The Baltimore, Md., native and First Team All-SCAC selection also broke the Sewanee single-season assist record. Farmer, a senior defender who also earned First Team All-SCAC honors, ranked sixth among all SCAC players in caused turnovers (17) while finishing 22nd in ground balls (27).
Junior attacker Ellie Cole of Colorado College and sophomore midfielder Meghan Hawthorne of Centre College rounded out the league's Second Team All-Region selections.
Shooting only half the numbers of Maloney, Cole, a First-Team All-SCAC selection, still managed to finish second on the team in scoring with 51 points, largely because of her 24 assists, which was just two behind Maloney but 15 more than the next closest teammate.
Hawthorne was named to the Region's Second Team for the second consecutive year after finishing the season with 55 goals and 21 assists for 76 points. She finished in the top five in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in all three of those categories. Hawthorne was also a First Team All-SCAC selection for the second year in a row and was named SCAC Player of the Week three times, the most of any player in the conference.
These eight conference honorees, along wtih the other All-Region honoree, are now eligible for inclusion on the IWLCA All-American teams, which will be announced on May 24. The IWLCA will honor the National All-Americans at the IWLCA All-American banquet on June 16, 2012 at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pa.
