University of Massachusets Athletics
Trio of Minutewomen Named to IWLCA All-Region First Team
May 17, 2016 | Women's Lacrosse
AMHERST, Mass. - After leading UMass to its eighth straight Atlantic 10 title and an NCAA Tournament berth, three women’s lacrosse seniors were named to the IWLCA All-Northeast Region First Team. Attack Erika Eipp, defender Kate Farnham, and midfielder Hannah Murphy all earned the first team recognition and are now eligible to be named to the IWLCA All-America team.
For Farnham and Murphy, this marks the second consecutive year the pair have been selected to the IWLCA first team. Eipp earns her second straight honor from the coaches group after being tabbed to the second team last year.
Following the regular-season, Eipp was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. She enters the NCAA Quarterfinals with 95 points this season which ranks third nationally. Her 53 assists rank second nationally and are a single-season record for both UMass and the Atlantic 10. She needs just four points to break the UMass single-season record set by Katie Ferris in 2012. The senior from Townsend, Mass., also ranks second in program history for career points with 227 as one of just six players to crack the 200-point barrier.
Farnham was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year as an anchor to the nation’s third-ranked defensive unit. The Andover, Mass., native ranks ninth all-time at UMass in career caused turnovers (135) and is second in caused turnovers (94). Her 32 caused turnovers in 2016 is fourth-best in program history for a single-season just behind her 37 from 2015 which is tied for second. During her career, the UMass defense has consistently ranked among the top-10 in the NCAA and the best in the Atlantic 10.
One of the top draw control specialists in the country, Murphy was named the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year for the second straight season. The Duxbury, Mass., native ranks third nationally with 149 this year which is a single-season record for the program and the Atlantic 10. She initially set the school record with 113 last season. Additionally, she holds the career record with 307 which stands as the fifth most for an active player in the NCAA currently. That number also ranks Murphy 12th all-time in the history of the NCAA. Offensively, the junior ranks third on the team in points with 49 on 35 goals and 14 assists this year. She also ranks second on the team in groundballs with 44.
The Minutewomen (20-1) have reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 1984 when UMass played Maryland in the semifinals. Last weekend, UMass defeated Princeton in the first round and Cornell in the second round. The Minutewomen are making their four appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals after reaching the semifinals in 1983 and 1984. UMass won the NCAA National Championship title in 1982 – the first-ever NCAA sponsored championship for the sport.
The 20 win for UMass ties the program record set in 1978 (20-2-2). The Minutewomen enter Sunday’s game at Maryland with a 16-game win streak in hand.