University of Massachusets Athletics
Ferris Honored As SynapseSports.com Rookie All-American
May 31, 2011 | Women's Lacrosse
May 31, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass women's lacrosse freshman attack Katie Ferris was named to the SynapseSports.com Rookie All-American Team as announced over Memorial Day Weekend prior to the NCAA National Championship Game. Ferris set a new UMass program record for single-season goals with a team-best 56 for the year.
The freshman from Carthage, N.Y., was second on the team in scoring, just a point behind All-American Jackie Lyons, with 72 for the year. She led the team in goals with 56, a new UMass single-season record, while ranking second in assists (16). She was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, earned A-10 All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie Team honors and was named to the All-Tournament Team as well.
Taylor Blazer of Richmond joined Ferris in representing the Atlantic 10 Conference.
UMass finished the season 17-3 overall winning its third-straight Atlantic 10 Tournament Title. Under first year head coach Angela McMahon, the Minutewomen made their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history - the second trip in the last three years. The 17 wins were second all-time in program history, while the team also set new school marks for goals and points scored in a season. For the first time in school history, UMass went a perfect 7-0 in Atlantic 10 play. The Minutewomen were also ranked nationally for 11-consecutive weeks.
Jackie Lyons, Haley Smith and Nazy Kerr will be the key losses heading into next season as each played critical roles on each end of the field. Lyons and Smith represent 110 of UMass 388 points from the season including 77 of the Minutewomen's 293 goals. Kerr was a three-year starter on defense who ranked second in caused turnovers (24).
The Minutewomen will return Katie Florence in goal for the fourth-straight season and 10 of its top 12 scorers from the past season. Kerr will be the only loss on the defensive end as Ali Houlis and Riley Perry return for their fourth years as starters.