Anna Maria's Kylie Dalbec Selected as GNAC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Year

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Inaugural GNAC champion 
Simmons places five on First Team

WINTHROP, Mass. – As voted upon by the league’s head coaches, Anna Maria College junior forward Kylie Dalbec has been named the 2014 GNAC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Year, it was announced on Wednesday by the conference office.

A First Team selection, Dalbec led the GNAC in its inaugural season in goals (21), points (48) and game-winning goals (9), as the AMCATS upset top-seeded Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in the GNAC Tournament semifinals to advance to the conference title game.

For the complete All-Conference selections and major award winners, please see below.

Saint Joseph’s (ME) senior midfielder Theresa Hendrix was voted as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s coaches. Hendrix guided the Monks to the regular-season conference title and anchored a defense that allowed just 14 goals in 17 games, including a mere three in six league contests. The senior also tallied six goals and had a conference-leading 11 assists.

Simmons College, which bested the AMCATS in last weekend’s conference championship game, placed a league-best five student-athletes on the All-GNAC First Team, headlined by freshman Julie Saltamartini, who was honored as the GNAC Rookie of the Year. The first-year forward tied for third among league leaders in goals (15) and tied for fourth in points (34).

Also representing the Sharks on the First Team were senior forward Kelly Williamson, sophomore midfielder Amy Wilson, senior defender Avery Hines and sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Rastello.

Simmons head coach Amanda Maxwell was voted as the GNAC Coach of the Year following a vote by her peers, as the fifth-year leader guided the Sharks to the first-ever GNAC title in the sport of field hockey and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

The regular-season champion Monks placed four student-athletes on the First Team, as senior forward Effie Drew, senior defender Kaylee Heath and junior defender Meghan Williams all joined Hendrix as honorees.

Also from Anna Maria, junior midfielder Kayla Lapierre garnered First Team accolades alongside Dalbec.

Rivier University was honored with the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award for the 2014 campaign.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

First Team
F - Kylie Dalbec, Anna Maria (Jr., Portland, Maine)
F – Effie Drew, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Sr., Portland, Maine)
F – Julie Saltamartini, Simmons (Fr., East Hampstead, N.H.)
F – Kelly Williamson, Simmons (Sr., Natick, Mass.)
M – Kayla Lapierre, Anna Maria (Jr., Worcester, Mass.)
M – Theresa Hendrix, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Sr., Scarborough, Maine)
M – Amy Wilson, Simmons (So., Falmouth, Mass.)
B – Kaylee Heath, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Sr., Pittston, Maine)
B – Meghan Williams, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Jr., Greenland, N.H.)
B – Avery Hines, Simmons (Sr., Newburyport, Mass.)
GK – Brianna Rastello, Simmons (So., Salem, N.H.)

Second Team
F - Nichole Lowe, Anna Maria (Sr., Saugus, Mass.)
F – Giovanna Ciavardoni, Johnson & Wales (Fr., Latham, N.Y.)
F - Courtney McTague, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Saugus, Mass.)
F – Bailey Cutler, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Fr., Lisbon Falls, Maine)
M – Ali King, Johnson & Wales (Fr., San Diego, Calif.)
M – Ashley Gleason, Lasell (Jr., Suffield, Conn.)
M – Kelsey Dumond, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (So., Lewiston, Maine)
B – Kaitlyn Moran, Anna Maria (So., Leicester, Mass.)
B – Brianna Robbins, Lasell(Sr., Auburn, Maine)
B – Veronica Jones, Rivier (Sr., West Chesterfield, N.H.)
GK – Makenzie Flagg, Rivier (Sr., Shirley, Mass.)

Offensive Player of the Year – Kylie Dalbec, Anna Maria
Defensive Player of the Year – Theresa Hendrix, Saint Joseph’s (ME)
Rookie of the Year – Julie Saltamartini, Simmons
Coach of the Year – Amanda Maxwell, Simmons

Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Rivier University

All-Sportsmanship Team
Katherine Albro, Anna Maria (So., Leicester, Mass.)
Rachel Rice, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Quakertown, Pa.)
Shannon Motz, Lasell (Fr., Readington, N.J.)
Cregan Callahan, Mount Ida (Fr., Diamond Point, N.Y.)
Chelsea Gomes, Rivier (So., Epsom, N.H.)
Emily Jordan, Saint Joseph’s Maine (Sr., Whitefield, Maine)
Kelly Williamson, Simmons (Sr., Natick, Mass.)

All-Tournament Team
Kylie Dalbec, Anna Maria
Nichole Lowe, Anna Maria
Kaitlyn Moran, Anna Maria
Shaina Thompson, Johnson & Wales
Shannon Yoder, Johnson & Wales 
Kelsey Dumond, Saint Joseph's (ME)
Theresa Hendrix, Saint Joseph's (ME)
Jenna Gagnon, Simmons
Avery Hines, Simons
Brianna Rastello, Simmons
Julie Saltamartini, Simmons
Kelly Williamson, Simmons 

Tournament MVP – Jenna Gagnon, Simmons

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