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2016 Women's Lacrosse All-NEC Teams / Highlights from Wagner's Semifinal Win Over Robert Morris
Gegan Earns Second Straight NEC Midfielder of the Year Award; Tumolo, Rey Named To Second Team
Smithfield, RI – For the third straight season, second-seeded Wagner will face top-seed Bryant in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship game, with this year's title tilt set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with the winner gaining automatic entry into the
2016 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship.
After falling to
Bryant in each of the last two NEC title games, the Seahawks are hoping the third time will be a charm as look to break through and earn their first-ever NCAA Championship bid.
While Bryant (13-4, 6-1 NEC) needed overtime to defeat No. 4 seed Sacred Heart by a 13-12 count in Friday's first NEC semifinal matchup, Wagner ran past Robert Morris, 17-7, behind a career-high five-goal performance by senior attacker
Tori McGrath (Delmar, NY / Bethlehem Central). Senior
Shea Gegan (Belmar, NJ / Manasquan), who picked up her second consecutive NEC Midfielder of the Year award at Thursday night's banquet, added four points with three goals and an assist.
In winning their sixth consecutive game, on a cold, soggy night, Wagner improved to 9-8 on the season while the Colonials see their season come to an end with a mark of 9-8. The Seahawks, who gained a share of the NEC regular season title for the first time in program history, finishing with the same 6-1 league mark as Bryant, have lost to the Bulldogs in the championship game in each of the last two seasons.
Bryant earned the top seed and the rite to host the entire four-team tourney by virtue of a 7-4 victory over Wagner back on April 10 in Staten Island.
"Our team is really tough and they play with a lot of heart and hustle," said first-year head coach
Katie Rowan following the victory over RMU. "Tonight, we wanted to win every 50-50 ball, the draw controls, the groundballs. I thought we scrapped it out and played smart offense and smart defense tonight."
Whoever winds up on top when the dust settles on Sunday's championship tilt, one thing is for certain – the winning head coach will be a former Syracuse University as Rowan and Bryant head coach
Jill Batcheller are former Orange teammates.
Rowan graduated in 2009 as Syracuse's all-time career leader in points and assists, as she amassed 396 points on 232 goals and 164 assists in her career en route to becoming the school's initial three-time First-Team All-America selection. The nation's leading scorer 2008, Rowan was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Honda Award.
She set single-season school records for points (142) and assists (69) that year and led the Orange to the national semifinals for the first time in school history. Rowan was a four-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection and a two-time BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year honoree.
As a senior, she was voted to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-America national first team as a senior after receiving second-team honors as a junior. Rowan earned the 2009 Soladay Award, which is the highest honor bestowed upon a Syracuse student-athlete.
Batcheller is a 2007 graduate of Syracuse where she was a four-year starting midfielder for the Orange. A two-time Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree and three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, she became just the eighth player in school history to reach 100-career points as she led her team in the inaugural BIG EAST Championship in 2007 as well as a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in 2005 and 2007.
"It's been a great rivalry the past few years and it's fun to now be a part of it," said Rowan. "Bryant's a great team. Both teams are going to come out ready to play so it should be a great game."
Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @WagnerWlax for information specific to the Seahawk women's lacrosse team.
