2023 W&L Women's Lacrosse Season Preview

2/16/2023 12:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Old Dominion Athletic Conference released its 2023 Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll on Wednesday and the No. 8 Washington and Lee Generals were picked as the preseason favorites to repeat as the champions for the 23rd time in program history.

The Generals grabbed all 10 of the possible first place votes for an even 100 points in Coach Maddie Coleman's first year at the helm of the Blue and White. W&L is coming off a 19-3 (8-0 ODAC) 2022 campaign that saw a run deep into the NCAA playoffs.

No. 25 Roanoke College received the last remaining first place vote and finished with 89 points. The Maroons edged Shenandoah University (82 points) for the second place position by seven points.

W&L defeated Roanoke 11-5 in last year's ODAC Championship contest and looks to lift the trophy for the 13th consecutive year and first of the Coleman Era.

2023 ODAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll

Washington and Lee University (10) 100 pts.
Roanoke College (1) 89 pts.
Shenandoah University 82 pts.
University of Lynchburg 70 pts.
Randolph-Macon College 67 pts.
Virginia Wesleyan University 55 pts.
Bridgewater College 45 pts.
Averett University 33 pts.
Ferrum College 32 pts.
Randolph College 17 pts.
Guilford College 15 pts.

Click HERE to read the ODAC release.

NATIONAL POLLS

The Generals have received preseason national recognition by appearing in the Top 10 in each of the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine and ILWomen/IWLCA Division III preseason rankings. Their highest ranking comes from the IWLCA at No. 8, with a No. 9 ranking from USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Defending national champion Middlebury topped each poll.

To view the complete rankings from both organizations, click the following links: Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine | ILWomen/IWLCA Poll

PRESEASON HONORS

USA Lacrosse Magazine released its 2023 Preseason All-America teams and Washington and Lee returning All-Americans, Eugenie Rovegno (Duxbury, Mass. / Duxbury) and Allie Schwab (Bryn Mawr, Pa. / Harriton) were named to the Preseason First Team. Hanna Bishop (Bronxville,N.Y. / Bronxville) was named to the Third Team as determined through USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributor consideration with input from NCAA coaches.

Prior to the 2022 season, Schwab was named Preseason Second Team All-America by USA Lacrosse Magazine and the 2023 nods mark Bishop and Rovegno's first preseason honors.

To view the complete preseason All-America teams from the organizations, click the following links: USA Lacrosse Magazine | W&L Release

Maddie Coleman Hired as Women's Lacrosse Coach

"We are so excited to begin competing later this month. The team has put in the work in the off-season, so we've been able to jump right into strategy. The returners are very determined to keep the high success of the program and the energy from the whole team has been incredibly motivating.

The seniors and captains are doing a great job of leading the team in a caring and positive way. We have our eyes set on competitive championship play in May, but right now are focusing on developing in the day to day."

Head Coach Maddie Coleman (1st Season)

2023 SCHEDULE OVERVIEW

The Generals' schedule features eight Top 25 matchups and four Top 10 games: No. 2 Tufts, No. 4 Salisbury, No. 5 Gettysburg, No. 6 Franklin & Marshall, No 12. York (Pa.), No. 18 Catholic, No. 19 Denison, and No. 25 Roanoke. Christopher Newport University, W&L's second opponent, is listed as receiving votes in the opening poll.

Coach Coleman's Generals will debut on February 19, against the No. 6 Franklin & Marshall Diplomats on Alston Parker Watt field.

The Blue and White will travel east over Washington Break and will play CNU on Wednesday, February 22 (3:30 p.m. start time) and then host No. 4 Salisbury on the following Saturday (Feb. 25) at noon.

On March 1, W&L will open up ODAC play at Ferrum College. The league opener will have a 4 p.m. first draw and kicks off a five-game road stretch until returning to Watt 24 days later to host No. 12 York.

During the three-week span, W&L will travel to play at No. 5 Gettysburg (March 4), No. 17 Catholic (March 11), No. 2 Tufts (March 18), and Mary Washington (March 22).

The Generals and Jumbos will meet in Sparks, Md. at the USA Lacrosse Headquarters; the two teams will face off at 7 p.m. on Tierney Field.

After the York contest, W&L will play its remaining ODAC slate. The Blue and White will play Shenandoah, Roanoke, and Lynchburg on the road and host Guilford, Virginia Wesleyan, Randolph-Macon and Bridgewater in Lexington.

The final regular season game is Saturday, April 29 and will celebrate the program's four seniors as the team welcomes No. 16 Denison at noon.

May 1 will kick off the ODAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament's first round. The championship contest will be held on Sunday (May 7), and all games will be played at the highest seed playing in the matchup.

CAPTAINS

Highly decorated senior, Allie Schwab, will serve as a co-captain during the 2023 season. Schwab is a two-time IWLCA All-America honoree and led W&L in points and assists as an attacker and was second in the ODAC with 22 assists.
In the classroom, Schwab is majoring in cognitive and behavioral science, she has been named Academic All-ODAC, a W&L Scholar-Athlete, and to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions.
This past summer, the Bryn Mawr, Pa. native interned at Penn Medicine, and on campus she is involved in volunteering with CASA and the Trevor Foundation.
Defender Caroline Wise is serving as a co-captain for the 2023 season. The Charlotte, N.C. native is a president's list student, W&L Scholar Athlete and Academic All-ODAC honoree on multiple occasions. In the classroom Wise is studying environmental studies and politics as a dual major.
On the field she has tallied 31 appearances, 21 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers and one draw control from the defensive position.
In her free time, Wise volunteers at a local elementary school throughout the academic year and worked as a guide in Alaska this summer at the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and preserve.
From Glen Ridge, N.J., senior Jenny Lisovicz was elected a team co-captain for the 2023 season. One of W&L's top returning midfielders, she has garnered All-Region, All-State and All-ODAC accolades in 2021 and 2022.
In the classroom, the senior is studying biology and was named to the President's List in 2019-20 and 2021-22 and qualified as a W&L Scholar Athlete in each semester at W&L.
Over her career she has started all 42 contests and recorded 36 goals and 16 assists for 53 points. She tallied 59 total draw controls and 30 caused turnovers in the transition game.
Off the field, the middie is involved with the Generals' Leadership Academy and volunteers at the campus kitchen.
Rounding out the women's lacrosse leadership group is defender Sam Van Belle. The senior from Lebanon, N.J. is a three-year letter-winner for the squad. She has made 37 starts in 39 appearances for W&L's defense.
Throughout her career she has scooped up 35 ground balls and caused 34 turnovers. During her sophomore campaign, she grabbed a career-high 18 draw controls. In both 2021 and 2022, she was named Second Team All-ODAC, All-State and All-Region.
The economics major is an Academic All-ODAC, W&L Scholar Athlete and was named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. This summer she interned in the portfolio analysis group for PGIM Fixed Income.
Off the field and out of the classroom, Van Belle is involved with the Outing Club, Generals' Leadership Academy and with Greek life.

KEY RETURNERS

The Generals return an arsenal of highly decorated women for the 2023 season. The reigning ODAC Champions, for the 12th consecutive year, have three All-Americans and nine All-ODAC honorees representing the Blue and White on Alston Parker Watt Field this season.

In 2022, senior Allie Schwab led the Generals in both assists (37) and points (77), and she ranked second with 40 goals. Her 37 assists were the second-highest total in the ODAC, while her 77 points were fourth in the league and also marked the third-highest total in a season in program history. A First Team All-ODAC and First Team IWLCA All-Region pick, Schwab was an IWLCA First Team All-American, 2021 Second Team All-American, and she also recognized with All-America laurels from USA Lacrosse Magazine last year.

Junior Eugenie Rovegno, who garnered First Team All-America honors from USA Lacrosse Magazine for the 2022 season and Second Team from IWLCA, led W&L in ground balls (51), caused turnovers (31) and draw controls (89) in 2022, all of which ranked in the Top 3 in the ODAC. The then-sophomore's 89 draw controls also represented the fifth-best single-season total in program history. A First Team All-ODAC and All-Region pick, as well as the 2022 ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, Rovegno also added two points on the offensive end with a goal and an assist.

Attacker Hanna Bishop scored a team-high 56 goals last season for W&L, ranking third in the ODAC in that category, while adding 17 assists for a total of 73 points. Her 56 goals scored were tied for the fifth-most in a season in program history, which helped land her on the USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-America team and IWLCA's All-America Third Team. A 2022 First Team All-ODAC and All-Region performer, the junior attacker already has 102 goals and 126 points in 35 games across her two seasons in the Blue and White.

ALL-ODAC RETURNERS

FIRST TEAM

Allie Schwab

Hanna Bishop

Eugenie Rovegno (ODAC Defensive Player of the Year)

SECOND TEAM

Jenny Lisovicz

Sam Van Belle

THIRD TEAM

Julia Thomson

Walker McKnight

Allie Doyle

Caroline Kranich

NEW FACES ON STAFF

Washington and Lee Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics Jan Hathorn announced the hiring of Maddie Coleman as the Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse in 2022. Coleman, a 2012 graduate of Gettysburg College, is the third head coach in Blue and White history.

Coleman, a Lexington native, returned home after spending the past nine seasons with Denison University. For six seasons she served as the assistant coach before being promoted to Associate Head Coach for the Big Red for her final three seasons in Ohio. The 2018 IWLCA-Nike Outstanding Assistant Coach of the Year focused on goalie and defensive development. During her tenure, DU claimed seven North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament Championships and 39 consecutive NCAC contests. Coaching six IWLCA All-Americans while there, Denison's squad compiled a 56-5 (.903) NCAC record and 111-42 (.725) overall.

An IWLCA All-America honoree in 2012, Coleman played in the cage for the Bullets and finished top-10 in the nation in both save percentage and goals against average (GAA) as a junior and senior. The two-time First Team All-Centennial honoree notched 11 wins over nationally ranked opponents.

In 2011, Coleman led Gettysburg to its first NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse National Championship, picking up All-Tournament Team accolades after she recorded 28 saves in the final three games of the tournament. In the Championship, she made nine stops and allowed just five goals. Full Release

Generals' Assistant Coach, Avery Blackmon, arrived in Lexington in January 2023 with a wide variety of lacrosse coaching experiences since graduating from Georgetown College (Ky.) in 2019. The 2019 NAIA Player of the Year spent the 2022 season at Division I Central Michigan as the first assistant. At CMU, Blackmon led all the skill, practice and game plan implementation for the draw unit and assisted with the offensive strategies and development. While Central Michigan was searching for a new head coach, Blackmon served as the interim head coach and assisted with the transition.

"Our program is really fortunate to bring on Coach Blackmon on to the staff," state Coleman. "Avery has collected a lot of experience at different levels in such a short amount of time. Blackmon's experience in the midfield, the draw and offensive schemes will be a positive addition to our program and we are excited to get started."

As a player, the Georgia native was a force in the midfield and racked up 584 draw controls with 302 goals and 125 assists for 427 points. Blackmon's individual statistics helped garner four NAIA First Team All-America awards and was named All-Conference each year in addition to being named NWLL Conference Player and Rookie of the Year. The three-time captain helped the Tigers make an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament on three occasions and were runner-ups in 2016. Full Release