Five Blue Devils Named to US Lacrosse Women?s Elite and Developmental Teams

DURHAM, N.C. -- US Lacrosse announced the rosters for the 2006-07 women's Elite and Developmental teams on Sunday with three current Duke players and two former All-Americas earning spots.

Leigh Jester, a senior from Ridgewood, N.J., joins Katie Chrest, a 2006 graduate, and Caline McHenry, a 2005 graduate, on the Elite team. The 24-player Elite squad is designed to prepare and train the best players in the country to compete against the best collegiate and international teams in the world. Jester earned second team IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-America honors last season after recording 40 goals and 16 assists.

“I am really excited and it is a huge honor to represent the United States,” said Jester. “It says a lot about the Duke program to have so many players selected. The committee looks for players with good stick skills and are good both offensively and defensively. It speaks to the kind of players we have and the job Kerstin (Kimel) does with the team.”

Chrest finished her career at Duke with school records in career goals (216) and career points (287). She was the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy recipient as National Player of the Year, a three-time All-America selection and two-time ACC Player of the Year. McHenry was a first team All-America in 2005 and a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy.

“It is a great honor to be chosen as a member of the United States Elite team,” said Chrest. “I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to work with the other great players who were selected. I know it will be a great experience and we will have a lot of fun representing the red, white and blue.”

The 22-player Developmental team features current Blue Devils Jessica Adam and Caroline Cryer. It will be the second straight year that the two made the Developmental squad. Adam, a junior from Severna Park, Md., has 17 goals and eight assist in one season at Duke. She was a member of the 2003 U-19 World Cup Championship team. Cryer, a junior from Centennial, Colo., has tallied 51 goals and 22 assists in two seasons with the Blue Devils.

The U.S. Elite and Developmental teams have scheduled two weekends of competition in the upcoming months. The teams will play top college programs during the Stars and Stripes Weekend Sept. 30 - Oct. 1 in Northern Virginia and during the Champions Challenge Weekend Jan. 27-28, 2007, in Orlando, Fla.