HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (August 27, 2010) – The Centenary women’s lacrosse program has added Rachel Peregrim to its coaching staff, head coach John McCloskey announced.

Peregrim joins the team after three years as the head coach of the varsity girl’s lacrosse team at the Academy of St. Elizabeth High School in Morristown, N.J. Prior to that, she served as the co-head varsity lacrosse coach at Point Pleasant High School, helping the team to an eight-game improvement from the previous season. For her efforts, she shared the Coach of the Year Award from the Asbury Park Press. Her coaching experience also includes serving as the coach of a summer league U-16 team at the Nansemond Suffolk Academy in Suffolk, Va., leading her team to a 12-3-1 record.

Peregrim was a two-year player at Division I Old Dominion at defensive midfield under coaches Sue Stahl and Heather Walden. During her two seasons the team went 23-9 and reached the 2003 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship game.

Prior to her ODU career, Peregrim played four years of lacrosse at Toms River High School East. She served as team captain her final two years and also earned Most Valuable Player both her Junior and Senior seasons. She was a two-time First Team All-Conference and a two-time All-County performer, including Second Team honors in 2002. She earned the Freshman of the Year award and her sophomore campaign was given Best Offensive Player honors. She also was a four-year member of the girl’s soccer team at TRHSE, taking home two Best Defensive Player awards and three Honorable Mention accolades.

Peregrim graduated Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison in 2008 with a BS in Communication and a minor in Women’s Studies. She earned Dean’s List honors for the 2006-2008 semesters and was named to Omicron Lamda Pi Eta, the student honor society of the National Communication Association, during that time.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (August 13, 2010) – The Centenary College women’s lacrosse team has received Academic Squad honors from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) for the 2010 season, the organization announced Friday. The honor recognizes those teams with a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Centenary was one of 64 Division III teams and one of four Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) members to receive the accolade. The Lady Cyclones were also successful on the field in 2010, as they finished 13-2, including 7-1 in CSAC action, setting program records for wins and conference victories.

2010 IWLCA Division III Academic Squad Awards

Prior to 2010, head coach John McCloskey had improved the women’s lacrosse team in each of his three seasons. Last season was no different, as McCloskey guided the team to a 13-2 record, including 7-1 in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action, setting program-records in wins and conference victories. The team led the nation in scoring and reached the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in its history, and despite the fact that it lost to Gwynedd-Mercy in a hard-fought 14-12 contest, McCloskey and the team can consider the campaign a resounding success.

Seniors Megan Mars and Kiti Ovaskainen finished their careers in style, as each earned First Team All-CSAC and Second Team ECAC South All-Star accolades. Mars set program-records with 95 goals and 117 points and Ovaskainen finished with single-season bests in groundballs (106) and assists (31). Mars led the country in points per game while Ovaskainen finished first nationally in groundballs. Mars is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 202 goals and 251 points while Ovaskainen is first in Centenary women’s lacrosse history with 325 groundballs, 187 draw controls, 68 caused turnovers and 65 assists.

Other All-CSAC honorees for the Cyclones included First Team defender Lauren LaMotta and Honorable Mention winners Danielle Bay, Alysia Pinkerton and Allie Swartz. Bay set career-highs with 80 points on 59 goals and 21 assists while Swartz began her college career by recording 41 points on 21 goals and 20 assists. Pinkerton was a key figure on a defense that limited opponents to 9.3 goals per game.

The Cyclones opened their season with 10 straight wins, including five CSAC contests.  The team averaged 21.3 goals per game during that stretch. Centenary’s next game was a battle of unbeatens between CC and Cabrini. In a close contest, the Cavaliers came out on top, 15-10. But Centenary rebounded in its next two games, defeating Marywood, 17-16, and Gwynedd-Mercy, 20-18. In the game against the Griffins, Mars set a program single-game record with 14 goals and 15 points, one goal and one point shy of the NCAA Division III all-time record. CC closed out its regular-season campaign with an 18-8 win over non-conference foe Rutgers-Camden.

Thanks to their 7-1 conference record, the Cyclones were the second-seed in the CSAC Tournament and received a first round bye. In the semifinals, CC took on the Griffins again, but this time GMC came out ahead with the two-goal win.

Off the field, 12 Cyclones took home CSAC All-Academic Team honors and LeslieAnn Pritchard was Centenary’s Female Cardy Gemma Award winner.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (July 12, 2010) – For the first time in program history, Centenary women’s lacrosse finished its season as the highest scoring team in the nation. The Cyclones scored 19.3 goals per game, up from 15.1 in 2009. Individually, seniors Megan Mars (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) led the nation in points per game and fellow classmate Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) was the Division III leader in groundballs.

Both players received First Team All-Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) and Second Team ECAC South All-Star honors. Mars finished season with career-highs in goals (95), assists (22), points (117) and shots (163) and set Centenary single-season records in goals and points while finishing her career as Centenary’s all-time leader in goals (202), points (251) and shots (441). Besides leading the nation in points per game, she also ranked second nationally in goals per game and goals, fourth in points, 80th in assists per game and 97th in assists and led CSAC in goals, points and shots per game and tied for first with four gamewinning scores. She set Centenary’s single-game record with 14 goals and 15 points against Gwynedd-Mercy on April 20, one goal and one point shy of matching NCAA Division III single-game record.

Ovaskainen set career-highs in goals (59), assists (31), points (90), shots (109) and groundballs (106) while matching personal-bests in caused turnovers (21) and draw controls (48). She led the country in groundballs for the second time in her career and the first time since 2008. She also ranked 11th nationally in points per game, 25th in assists per game, 26th in points, 32nd in goals per game, 39th in goals, 43rd in assists and 74th in draw controls. She led CSAC in groundballs and assists per game and finishes her career as the school’s leader in groundballs with 325. She also ranks first in program history in assists (65), draw controls (187) and caused turnovers (68) and ranks second in goals (154) and points (219).

Centenary finished its season with program-records in wins (13) and conference victories (seven). The Cyclones reached the semifinals of the CSAC Tournament, falling in a hard-fought 14-12 contest to Gwynedd-Mercy.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. (June 1, 2010) – The Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) named 74 Centenary student-athletes to its Winter/Spring All-Academic Teams, the league announced. All eight Winter and Spring sports received academic awards, as men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball, softball and golf are listed in the CSAC awards and wrestling was named a Scholar-Academic Team after posting the 17th-best GPA in the nation.

“It is my pleasure to announce that 483 Colonial States Athletic Conference student-athletes have achieved the level of academic success necessary to be named to the Spring 2010 CSAC All-Academic Team,” said CSAC Commissioner Amy Friedman. “These student-athletes have assumed leadership roles on their campuses by demonstrating that a complete education includes both academics and athletics.”

The CSAC All Academic Award is earned by each student-athlete that meets the NCAA Division III eligibility requirements, earns varsity status in their respective sport, and earns a minimum semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.2. The team consists of student-athletes from men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s golf, men's lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men's tennis, baseball and softball.

Women's Lacrosse 2010 Winter/Spring All-Academic Team
Lindsey Depaolis, Fashion Merchandising, Fr., Grafton, N.Y.
Brianna Gluck, Psychology, Fr., Manchester, N.J.
Chelsea Gummerson, Business Administration Sports Management, So., Newton, N.J.
Eva Imperatore, Fashion Design, Jr., Ridgewood, N.J.
Nicole Judd Equine Studies, Fr., St. Louis, Mo.
Lauren Lamotta, English, Jr., Brick, N.J.
Megan Mars, Political and Governmental Affairs/Sociology, Sr., Jackson, N.J.
Kiti Ovaskainen, Communication: Radio/Television, Sr., Helsinki, Finland
Alysia Pinkerton, History/Teacher of Social Studies, Fr., Frenchtown, N.J.
Andrea Senkarik, Criminal Justice, Fr., Mays Landing, N.J.
Dawn Williams, English/Elementary Education, So., Bedminster, N.J.
Kristen Wirasnik, Mathematics/Biology, Sr., Pittstown, N.J.

2010 CSAC Winter/Academic All-Academic Team