FERRUM, Va. – The 2016 VaSID College Division Field Hockey all-State Team has been announced and four schools claimed major awards. Co-Player of the Year honors went to Maggie Waxter of Washington and Lee University and Bailey Lien of Christopher Newport University. University of Mary Washington's Lauren Hopkins earned Rookie of the Year, while Shenandoah University's Ashley Smeltzer-Kraft was named Coach of the Year.
Lien earned first-team All-Region and first-team Capital Athletic Conference All-Conference honors this season, and participated in the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game. She led the CAC and was eighth in the nation in save percentage (.821). Lien was also ranked ninth in the country in goals-against-average (0.84), one of only three goalkeepers in the nation to rank in the top-10 in both categories. She helped lead the Captains to nine shutouts during the year, and established new program records for career wins (54), shutouts (17), and minutes played (4542).
Waxter was the 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year and earned first team All-Conference. This is her third straight All-Conference first team honor, and she is only the second player in school history to earn ODAC Player of the Year laurels. Waxter started all 20 games and closed the season with 19 goals, second-best in the ODAC and tied the W&L single-season record. Waxter also had a career-best seven assists to total 45 points, also second-best in the ODAC.
Hopkins was an NFHCA All-Region second team selection as well as an All-CAC first team pick. She led Mary Washington this season with 14 goals, 12 assists and 40 points.
Smeltzer-Kraft was the 2016 ODAC Coach of the Year after leading team to its first-ever league championship. Shenandoah's 13-9 overall record established a new school record for season wins.
Joining Lien on the All-State first team were CNU teammates Alexa Weaver, Brittan Muir and Racheal Allshouse, while Waxter was joined by W&L teammate Kendall Peterson. Lynchburg College also had a pair of first team picks in Mikki Simpao and Hannah Krause. Rounding out the first team were Hopkins, Shelbi Holloman of Roanoke College, Taylor Hayes from Shenandoah and Emily Augsburger of Eastern Mennonite University.
VaSID names 27 all-state teams in 15 sports each year, as well as an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a University or conference in the state of Virginia.
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2016 VaSID College Division Field Hockey All-State Team
Major Award Winners
Co-Players of the Year: Bailey Lien, Christopher Newport
Maggie Waxter, Washington & Lee
Rookie of the Year: Lauren Hopkins, Mary Washington
Coach of the Year: Ashley Smeltzer-Kraft, Shenandoah
First Team
F - Shelbi Holloman, Roanoke
F - Maggie Waxter, Washington & Lee
F - Nikki Simpao, Lynchburg
F - Rachael Allshouse, Christopher Newport
MF - Lauren Hopkins, Mary Washington
MF - Alexa Weaver, Christopher Newport
MF - Taylor Hayes, Shenandoah
MF - Kendall Peterson, Washington & Lee
D - Brittan Muir, Christopher Newport
D - Emily Augsburger, Eastern Mennonite
D - Hannah Krause, Lynchburg
GK - Bailey Lien, Christopher Newport
Second Team
F - Emily Matisons, Bridgewater College
F - Christine Loehr, University of Mary Washington
F - Sierra Magdaleno, Ferrum College
F - Kayla Alderman, Shenandoah University
MF - Elizabeth Pardo, Shenandoah University
MF - Shannon Strosser, Bridgewater College
MF - Allegra Massey-Elim, University of Mary Washington
D - Sarah Miller, Christopher Newport University
D - Erin Kaila, University of Mary Washington
D - Kellie Jasinksi, Roanoke College
D - Morgan Payne, Shenandoah University
GK - Ali Bishop, Bridgewater College