University of Massachusets Athletics
Ollerenshaw and Valentine Named UMass Student-Athletes of the Week
April 13, 2026 | General, Women's Lacrosse, Women's Crew, Athletics Department
Rowing and women's lacrosse earn the weekly accolade.
AMHERST, Mass. – Olivia Ollerenshaw of rowing and Bridget Valentine of women's lacrosse were named UMass Student-Athletes of the Week, presented by UMassFive College Credit Union, announced on Monday. The two will be honored at the UMass Sports Luncheon this week.
The luncheon takes place on Wednesday, April 15 at noon in the Berkshire Room of the Berkshire Dining Commons. Cost to attend is $17 (15.30 for UMass Alumni).
Ollerenshaw in the stroke seat led the UMass Varsity 8 to a silver medal showing at the 2026 Knecht Cup on the Copper River over the weekend. On Sunday morning, the Varsity 8 won the second semifinal in a time of 7:10.29 and then in the afternoon went on to post a second-place showing in the Varsity 8 Final with an impressive 6:53.05 to beat Bucknell, Boston College, Temple and Boston University. In doing so, the UMass Varsity 8 finished ahead of MAC opponent Temple, along with Delaware and Eastern Michigan who were in the third-level final.
Valentine enjoyed career performances over the course of the two games, tallying seven groundballs and nine caused turnovers. In a 14-4 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday, she had four groundballs and a career-high seven caused turnovers, which also tied a program record. It tied the record by a UMass player, when Audra Tosone also had seven on Apr. 5, 2023 against Duquesne. The seven caused turnovers also tied for the fifth most by any player in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse this season. Valentine was part of a defense that held Eastern Michigan scoreless for the game's final 27:57. The Minutewomen held Eastern Michigan to its lowest goal total of the season and lowest regular-season goal total since 2024. Valentine added three groundballs and two caused turnovers in Tuesday's 20-9 win over Columbia, along with an assist. She leads the team with 31 caused turnovers on the season, which is among the national leaders. The 31 is already 10th in UMass program history as well.
The luncheon takes place on Wednesday, April 15 at noon in the Berkshire Room of the Berkshire Dining Commons. Cost to attend is $17 (15.30 for UMass Alumni).
Ollerenshaw in the stroke seat led the UMass Varsity 8 to a silver medal showing at the 2026 Knecht Cup on the Copper River over the weekend. On Sunday morning, the Varsity 8 won the second semifinal in a time of 7:10.29 and then in the afternoon went on to post a second-place showing in the Varsity 8 Final with an impressive 6:53.05 to beat Bucknell, Boston College, Temple and Boston University. In doing so, the UMass Varsity 8 finished ahead of MAC opponent Temple, along with Delaware and Eastern Michigan who were in the third-level final.
Valentine enjoyed career performances over the course of the two games, tallying seven groundballs and nine caused turnovers. In a 14-4 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday, she had four groundballs and a career-high seven caused turnovers, which also tied a program record. It tied the record by a UMass player, when Audra Tosone also had seven on Apr. 5, 2023 against Duquesne. The seven caused turnovers also tied for the fifth most by any player in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse this season. Valentine was part of a defense that held Eastern Michigan scoreless for the game's final 27:57. The Minutewomen held Eastern Michigan to its lowest goal total of the season and lowest regular-season goal total since 2024. Valentine added three groundballs and two caused turnovers in Tuesday's 20-9 win over Columbia, along with an assist. She leads the team with 31 caused turnovers on the season, which is among the national leaders. The 31 is already 10th in UMass program history as well.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Lacrosse
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/ Women's LacrosseTuesday, June 23
Sunday, June 21
Wednesday, June 17
Monday, June 15