GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three Gator lacrosse players are 2017 All-Americans, announced by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association on Wednesday afternoon.
Senior attacker
Mollie Stevens is an IWLCA First Team All-American, while senior attacker
Sammi Burgess and senior defender
Caroline Fitzgerald are IWLCA Second Team All-Americans.
The trio brings Florida's all-time All-America tally to 13 players with 49 All-America honors in the program's eight-year history under BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Amanda O'Leary. The Gators' three 2017 All-America honors are tied with Colorado, Louisville, and Penn State for the third most in the country.
Fitzgerald is now a three-time All-American as a Gator after picking up IWLCA All-America Second Team honors as a junior last season, and Third Team honors as a sophomore. She becomes just the fourth Gator to be recognized as a three-time All-American (Kitty Cullen, Sam Farrell, Shannon Gilroy). The senior defender ended her career in Orange and Blue as the all-time leader in ground balls (152) and caused turnovers (87), while ranking second with 82 starts.
Burgess earned her second All-American honor following a career-best season. Her 82 points in 2017 will go down as the fourth-highest season total in Florida lacrosse history. Burgess recorded just the second season with at least 30 goals and 30 assists by a Gator, and set a single-season record with 45 assists. The senior attacker finished her Gator career ranked second all-time in assists (86), fourth in points (227), and fifth in goals (141).
Stevens compiled the best season of her career in 2017 en route to earning her first All-American accolade. The senior attacker recorded career-highs in goals, assists, points, ground balls, draw controls, and caused turnovers. After winning just 50 draw controls in her first three seasons combined, Stevens exploded for a UF program record 106 draw controls this season, including a single-game record 11 in a win at Jacksonville. She leaves Florida ranked fourth all-time with 159 goals, 156 draw controls, and 11 game-winning goals.
UF had a program record 10 players named All-Conference this year, while its six All-Region selections a week ago tied for the most in program history.
The IWLCA will honor its All-America selections at the IWLCA All-America banquet on June 3, 2017, at the Hunt Valley Inn in Hunt Valley, Md.
A Look at UF's All-American Athletes
Sammi Burgess | SR | Attack
- 2017 IWLCA All-America Second Team (First Team All-Region)
- 2017 Tewaaraton Award Top-25 Nominee
- 2017 All-BIG EAST First Team
- Set the UF single-season record for assists (32) in 14 games
- The fifth Gator to break 200 career points (227)
- Just the second Gator to have a season with at least 30 points and 30 goals
- Set career-highs in assists (45), points (82), ground balls (37), and caused turnovers (8)
- Scored a point in 44 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Recorded an assist in 19 consecutive games, a school record
- Tied the school record for assists in a single-game, (4), five times this season
Caroline Fitzgerald | SR | Defense
- 2017 IWLCA All-America Second Team (First Team All-Region)
- 2017 Tewaaraton Award Top-25 Nominee
- 2017 BIG EAST Defender of the Year
- Florida's all-time leader in ground balls (152) and caused turnovers (87)
- Tied the UF single-game record with five caused turnovers in a win at Marquette
- Set career-highs in ground balls (46), caused turnovers (26) and assists (2)
- Started in all 82 games of her career, the second-most starts all-time at UF
Mollie Stevens | SR | Attack
- 2017 IWLCA All-America First Team (First Team All-Region)
- 2017 Tewaaraton Award Top-25 Nominee
- 2017 BIG EAST Attacker of the Year
- 2017 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player
- Set the UF single-season record for draw controls (84) in just 15 games
- Leads Florida in goals (59), ground balls (48), and draw controls (106)
- Set career-highs in goals, assists (16), points (75), ground balls, draw controls, and caused turnovers (23)
- Set the UF record for single-game draw controls with 11 at Jacksonville
- Alpha Lacrosse National Player of the Week (2/28/17)
- Scored a career-high seven goals in a win over No. 7 Stony Brook
- Her 48 ground balls in 2017 were a UF single-season record
IWLCA All-American Teams
First Team
Sam Apuzzo Boston College Sophomore Attack
Ellie DeGarmo Princeton Senior Goalkeeper
Brooke Gubitosi Stony Brook Junior Defense
Nadine Hadnagy Maryland Senior Defense
Molly Hendrick North Carolina Senior Attack
Olivia Hompe Princeton Senior Attack
Stephanie Lazo Pennsylvania State Senior Attack
Sarah Martin Albany Senior Midfield
Marie McCool North Carolina Junior Midfield
Michaela Michael Southern California Senior Attack
Kylie Ohlmiller Stony Brook Junior Attack
Casey Pearsall Notre Dame Senior Midfield
Catie Smith Cornell Senior Defense
Mollie Stevens Florida Senior Attack
Zoe Stukenberg Maryland Senior Midfield
Megan Taylor Maryland Sophomore Goalkeeper
Second Team
Sarah Brown Colorado Junior Defense
Sammi Burgess Florida Senior Attack
Madison Carter Pennsylvania State Sophomore Attack
Alex Condon Pennsylvania Junior Midfield
Olivia Conti Towson Freshman Defense
Riley Donahue Syracuse Junior Attack
Erica Evans Canisius Junior Midfield
Caroline Fitzgerald Florida Senior Defense
Cortney Fortunato Notre Dame Senior Attack
Maggie Jackson Virginia Sophomore Midfield
Hannah Koloski Louisville Senior Attack
Elizabeth Miller Boston College Sophomore Defense
Hannah Murphy Massachusetts Senior Midfield
Katie O'Donnell Pennsylvania State Junior Midfield
Brittany Read Louisville Junior Goalkeeper
Megan Whittle Maryland Junior Attack
Third Team
Kasey Behr Virginia Junior Midfield
Sarah Crowley Massachusetts Senior Defense
Ela Hazar North Carolina Junior Attack
Katy Junior Pennsylvania Sophomore Defense
Darby Kiernan Colorado Junior Attack
Taryn Ohlmiller Stony Brook Freshman Attack
Claire Quinn Northwestern Sophomore Defense
Haley Schweizer Johns Hopkins Senior Midfield
Meghan Siverson Louisville Sophomore Midfield
Paige Soenksen Colorado Senior Goalkeeper
Lydia Sutton Southern California Junior Defense
Sammy Jo Tracy North Carolina Senior Attack
Dorrien Van Dyke Stony Brook Senior Midfield
Natalie Wallon Syracuse Sophomore Midfield
Caroline Wannen Maryland Senior Attack
Haley Warden James Madison Junior Midfield