Sophomore Gabe Little, of the Mount St. Mary's University women's lacrosse team, has been named Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week for her first conference honor.
Little (North Carroll), a 5-foot-8 defender, tallied six ground balls and five caused turnovers to help the Mountaineers win both of their games last week. With four wins in five games, MSM is closing in on a 10th consecutive NEC tournament berth and its 14th in 15 years.
Little anchored the Mount defense, which held opponents to just 7.5 goals per game last week. Individually, she picked up three ground balls and forced a turnover in a 19-9 victory against Long Island Friday and then had three ground balls and a career-high four caused turnovers in an 8-6 win against Wagner Sunday.
She now leads the team with 31 ground balls and ranks second with 21 caused turnovers.
Little is the first Mount player to earn the award since senior goalkeeper Brigid McTavish (South Carroll) received her second nod last year. The Mountaineers head into their season finale 7-9 overall, but second in the NEC with a 6-2 mark in league play.
RAVEN RODGERS: Leslie Rodgers (Westminster) has put together a strong freshman season with the Franklin Pierce University women's tennis team.
So much so that on April 9, she was named the school's female student athlete of the week.
From April 2-8, Rodgers won singles and doubles in both of the Ravens' matches that week - a 5-4 loss to Saint Anselm on April 3 and a 6-3 win over Pace on April 6.
After that, she won at doubles on April 9 in an 8-1 win over American International and at singles in a 7-2 loss at Bentley on April 11 before the team ended the regular season with a 9-0 loss at Assumption. The Ravens finished 3-11.
TIGER TOWN: Two former county players have carved out significant roles with the 20th-ranked Princeton University women's lacrosse team right away.
Freshman attack Erin McMunn (Winters Mill) has played in all 12 of the Tigers' games, starting eight, and leads the team with 25 assists while ranking third with 37 points. She has added 11 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
Freshman midfielder Erin Slifer (South Carroll) has started all 12 games, tallying eight goals, 13 points, 12 ground balls, 27 draw controls and five caused turnovers.
Princeton owns a 6-6 record with three regular-season games to go.
WARRIOR RUNSER: Senior midfielder Hank Runser (Winters Mill) has contributed to the Lycoming College men's lacrosse team's offense this year, recording five goals and nine points in 11 games as a reserve.
Runser has added four ground balls during the Warriors' 4-7 start.
TOURNEY TIME: The University of Maryland men's and women's lacrosse teams are both set for ACC tournament weekend.
Junior Katie Schwarzmann (Century), sophomore Amalie Trentzsch (Winters Mill) and the rest of the Terrapins women's team are seeded third in their quest to win the program's fourth straight ACC title.
Maryland (13-3) opens with a first-round matchup against sixth-seeded Virginia Tech Friday at 2 p.m. in Durham, N.C. The winner advances to face second-seeded Duke Saturday at 3 p.m. with the championship scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. The Terps are undefeated in ACC tourney first-round games.
On the men's side, junior midfielder Curtis Holmes (Marriottsville/McDonogh) and fourth-seeded Maryland faces top-seeded Duke in the semifinals, Friday at 5 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va.
The victor faces the North Carolina-Virginia winner Sunday at 3 p.m. The games will be televised on ESPNU.
HONORABLE MANN: For the second time this season, sophomore outfielder Casey Mann (North Carroll), of the Guilford College baseball team, earned a spot on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference weekly honor roll.
Mann hit .647 (11-for-17) with a double and three RBIs during the Quakers' 2-2 week to help the team reach 20 wins for the first time since 2006. Guilford is now 21-16.
Mann leads the team with 12 steals, ranks second with 35 runs, 20 walks and two triples, third with 51 hits and a .434 on-base percentage, fourth with a .357 average, fifth with six doubles and is tied for sixth with 17 RBIs.
LOCAL TERROR: Two former county players have helped put the McDaniel College softball team in position to win the Centennial Conference's regular-season title.
Freshman utility player Sam Stitely (North Carroll) and sophomore first baseman Stephanie Maring (South Carroll) have both received significant playing time for the Terror, who sit atop the league standings with four conference games to go.
Stitely has played in 16 of the team's 26 games, starting 14. She is batting .293 with nine RBIs and 11 runs scored. She hit her first career homer Saturday at Ursinus.
Maring has played in 21 games, starting 13. She is batting .244 with a homer and eight RBIs. Stitely and Maring are two of just five Terror players to homer this year.
