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Lady Monarchs Sweep All-State Honors

Lady Monarchs Sweep All-State HonorsLady Monarchs Sweep All-State Honors

Dec. 12, 2011

NORFOLK, Va. – Five members of the Old Dominion University Field Hockey team were named to the 2011 University Division All-State squad, announced by the Virginia Association of Sports Information Directors (VaSID) on Monday. ODU also claimed the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year honors.

The five representatives were the most by any school in the state. Senior All-American Emma Batten was named the Player of the Year while teammate Kelsey Smither was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year. Head Coach Beth Anders, who led the Monarchs to their 17th NCAA Final Four appearance and an overall record of 22-3, was named the Coach of the Year in the state.

Senior defender Stephanie Kratzer was also named to the first team while senior goalkeeper Devon Seifert and sophomore forward Kati Nearhouse were tabbed to the second team for the Lady Monarchs.

It marks the second time this season that ODU has swept through various awards as the Lady Monarchs took home all of the major awards at the CAA Banquet when Batten was named CAA Player of the Year, Smither was named CAA Rookie of the Year, Anders was named CAA Coach of the Year and Kratzer was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year.

Batten received first team All-America nods from both the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) and WomensFieldHockey.com where she was also national offensive MVP. The CAA Player of the Year ranked top-10 nationally in scoring, despite facing the nation's second toughest schedule. Batten helped ODU win its 15th CAA title and advance to the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. She finished the season with a team-high 27 goals and five game-winning goals. Batten was also selected to the NCAA National Championships All-Tournament squad.

Recently named the National Rookie of the Year by WomensFieldHockey.com, Smither also earned All-Rookie team accolades by the NFHCA. The CAA Rookie of the Year led Old Dominion with 13 assists and helped the Lady Monarchs rank among the national leaders in scoring margin this season.

Kratzer, the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, headlined an ODU defense that posted eight shutouts and held an additional 10 opponents to a lone goal this season. She helped the Lady Monarchs limit league foes to just five goals in eight conference contests. In her senior campaign, Kratzer has also added offensive support to the ODU charge, tying for third on the team with eight goals and ranking fifth with seven assists.

Earning second team honors for the second consecutive season, Seifert was solid in goal all season for the Monarchs as she started all 25 games and posted eight shutouts. The senior goalkeeper allowed just 27 goals on the year for an average of just 1.07 goals per game, which was sixth-best in the NCAA. Seifert recorded 45 saves on the season and was a second team All-CAA selection.

Nearhouse was also named to the CAA Second Team, NFHCA Second Team and to WomensFieldHockey.com Third Team. Her second half goal against Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament lifted the Monarchs to their 17th Final Four appearance. The sophomore finished the year with eight goals and five assists in the Lady Monarchs sensational season. She helped Old Dominion to defeat eight top-10 ranked teams during the regular season.

Player of the Year – Emma Batten, ODU
Rookie of the Year – Kelsey Smither, ODU
Coach of the Year – Beth Anders, ODU

First Team
GK - Anna Zarkoski, Richmond
D - Stephanie Kratzer, ODU*
D - Lynsey Daughtrey, Radford
D - Olga Knop, Longwood
M - Kelsey Smither, ODU
M - Chelsea Davies, Richmond
M - Rebecca Barry, Richmond
F - Emma Batten, ODU*
F - Elly Buckley, UVA*
F - Katelin Peterson, Richmond
WC (M) - Stacey de Grandhomme, Longwood

Second Team
GK - Devon Seifert, ODU
D - Christine Johnson, W&M
D - Helen Doolittle, Liberty
D - Amy Goldstein, JMU
M - Leah Zamesnik, W&M
M - Rachel Jennings, UVA
M - Jenna Taylor, JMU
F - Kati Nearhouse, ODUF - Kelsey Scherrer, VCU
F - Britt Knouse, UVA
WC (D) - Stephanie DeMasi, VCU 

*Unanimous selection