Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/1/15
From press Release
The James Madison lacrosse program has announced the signing of 11 players to National Letters of Intent in the early signing period, Head Coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe has announced.
Name: Olivia Alvarez
Position: Attack
Hometown/High School: Moorestown, N.J. / Moorestown High School
Career Highlights: Played under Head Coaches KC and Dianna Knoblach at Moorestown High School.
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Olivia is a specialized lefty attacker that will open up options for the Dukes’ offense. Olivia embodies a hunger to impact the offensive unit and is a bull in her pursuit. Her shot is a cannon and is going to be one of her biggest strengths.”
Name: Linnea Hughes
Position: Attack
Hometown/High School: Malvern, Pa. / Great Valley High School
Career Highlights: 2015 First Team All-American, member of the 2015 Pennsylvania Brine Championship Team, three-time All-Chesmont league selection, Chesmont league MVP
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Another dual sport athlete, Linnea chose to play lacrosse over Squash where she was ranked as a U-15 player. Linnea possess great hands and feet for a tall athlete and has been a late bloomer and we are really excited for her unlimited potential in this sport. She is fresh, focused and looking forward to working hard for the Dukes.”
Name: Sydney Beckmeyer
Position: Midfield
Hometown/High School: Cincinnati, Ohio / The Summit Country Day School
Career Highlights: 2015 Miami Valley Conference Player of the Year, two-time First-Team All-State and three-time All-District selection, D2 Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year, Summit Country Day School team MVP
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Sydney is a fiery worker in the midfield and plays with a blue-collar mentality all the time. She is a beast in the midfield, running and pushing transition and winning loose balls, but she is also able to impact both the offensive and defensive side of settled play too. Sydney is a true middie that we have high expectations for.”
Name: Logan Brennan
Position: Attack
Hometown/High School: Kingston, N.Y. / Kingston High School
Career Highlights: 10-time Scholar Athlete for lacrosse, basketball and field hockey, two-time Varsity 845 Player of the Year, three-time Section 9 First Team, selection, 2014 and 2015 US Lacrosse All-American
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Logan is an impact attacker with great size and body awareness. She is shifty and has great body fakes and stick awareness. Logan can dodge, feed and score and is a triple threat attacker who will excel when surrounded by athletes just as talented as she is.”
Name: Molly Dougherty
Position: Goalie
Hometown/High School: Alexandria, Va. / St.Stephen’s & St. Agnes School
Career Highlights: Played under Head Coach Kathy Jenkins and received the 2015 Coach’s Award, Deans List student
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Molly has great size with quickness. She has a contagious energy that will get everyone on the team as well as her defensive unit fired up to play for her. She is a vocal goalie that has a great presence and we are very excited for Molly to come in and compete.”
Name: Halle Duenkel
Position: Midfield
Hometown/High School: Great Falls, Va. / Langley High School
Career Highlights: All-Conference First-Team and First Team All-Region selection, 2015 Academic All-American, Brine Lacrosse All-American honoree for the mid-atlantic,State Championship runner-up in 2013, member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Leadership Society and Key Club
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Halle is such a coachable, lovable team member and athlete. She is a pleaser and will do whatever it takes to make herself and her team the best it can be and will be selfless in her pursuit. Halle has excelled at Chantilly in many sports and in the class room, but found her love in lacrosse and she will be a welcomed addition to the JMU roster.”
Name: Emma Johnson
Position: Defense
Hometown/High School: Laurel, Md. / Atholton High School
Career Highlights: 2013 Nike Ride Candidate, Atholton High School team MVP and All-County selection, member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Lettermans Club
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Emma is a very polished and composed defensive player. She makes great decisions, takes smart risks and is consistent in her efforts. She has very deceptive speed, quickness and explosion and shows great poise in her 1v1 defense and prowless around ground balls and loose ball plays around the draw.”
Name: Alexandra Kugler
Position: Midfield
Hometown/High School: Gainesville, Va. / Battlefield High School
Career Highlights: 2015 Cedar Run Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-State, Region and Conference selection, Honor Roll student,
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Alexandra is a great dodger and has a knack for scoring goals. She is a very well-rounded player who will excel at JMU when she believes in herself the way we believe in her. Another explosive player in the midfield, Alexandra will give us depth in this position. ”
Name: Madison McDaniel
Position: Midfield
Hometown/High School: Severna Park, Md. / Severn School
Career Highlights: 2015 US Lacrosse First Teamm All-American, Under Armour All-American, 2015 MVP Players Award winner, Nike The Ride Top-50 National Selecion and named an Inside Lacrosse Player to Watch as a sophomore
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Maddie is a draw specialist who uses her strength, length and hand-eye coordination to capitalize on this aspect of our game. She will be a huge asset to our program right away. On the offensive end, she is a great target and has a great shot. We look forward to her size impacting our team.”
Name: Kelsey Reed
Position: Midfield
Hometown/High School: Stirling, N.J. / Watchung Hills Regional High School
Career Highlights: Watchung Hills Regional team captain, 2015 Academic All-American, member of the Brine National Classic Team, two-time All-Skyland Conference selection, Honor Roll student
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts:” Kelsey is an explosive middie that has developed earlier on the defensive side. She is confident with the ball in the clear, and has a great shot when she uses it. Kelsey has great stamina and can work at a really high level for a long period of time. She is a gritty player that plays a physical game and we love that about her.”
Name: Kristen Russell
Position: Defense
Hometown/High School: Olney, Md. / Sherwod High School
Career Highlights: 2014 4A North Region Champion, two-time Montgomery Gazette All-County Team honoree, Honor Roll student, member of the National Math, Science and English Honor Societies
Coach Klaes-Bawcombe’s Thoughts: “Kristen’s quickness and footwork will strengthen our defensive unit. Another basketball player turned lacrosse player for the Dukes, Kristen will look to push our defensive unit to be quicker and take more risk on the field. She is a smart player as she uses her natural instincts to make plays and her speed will be an asset in the clear.”