Four Blue Devils Named To All-South Region Team

DURHAM, N.C. --- The Duke women's lacrosse team had four players named to the IWLCA All-South Region team, announced yesterday by the lacrosse organization. Junior attacker Carolyn Davis, junior attacker Megan Del Monte and senior defender Aiyana Newton all earned first team accolades while freshman midfielder Emma Hamm was placed on the second team. It was Davis' second such award, and the first for the Hamm, Del Monte and Newton.

Candidates for All-Region were selected for their outstanding performance on the field of play. The IWLCA has honored 128 student-athletes in Division I with inclusion on one of eight All-Regional teams, with each of the four regions, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, and West/Midwest naming a first and a second team. All 128 athletes are now eligible for inclusion on the IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-American teams, which will be announced on May 29. The IWLCA and US Lacrosse will honor the National All-Americans at an awards banquet on June 14, 2008 in Downingtown, Pa.

Davis has been outstanding for the Blue Devils this season, especially considering she was cleared to play just a week before the season opener after spending the off-season rehabilitating from a torn ACL that she suffered in the final game of the 2007 campaign. Davis has also had to adjust to playing attack after running the midfield the previous two seasons. The native of Skaneateles, N.Y., leads Duke with 56 goals, 71 points and 123 shots and is fourth on the team with 15 assists. Davis has also picked up 26 ground balls, grabbed 21 draw controls and caused 13 turnovers. In April, she was named to the All-ACC team for the second straight year and to the ACC All-Tournament team for the second time in three years. Davis is currently fourth on the Duke records list for goals in a season, seventh for career goals, eighth for season points and seventh for career points. She ranks ninth in Division I for active career goal leaders (not including the NCAA class of 2008).

Del Monte has quietly put up some great numbers this season on offense. The native of Lutherville, Md., leads the team with 25 assists in her first season as a starter. She ranks second on the Duke squad in goals with 41 and points with 66. Del Monte ranks in the top nine in the ACC in goals, assists and points per game. She is sixth on the Duke season assists record list and eighth on the career assists list. Del Monte was honored by being placed on the All-ACC team for 2008. Among active players (not including the NCAA class of 2008), Del Monte is 14th in Division I with 21 straight matches with a point.

Newton, a native of Baltimore, Md., is the leader of a defense that is the most-experienced unit for the Blue Devils. She has 16 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers this year and has often been the defender called upon to mark the opposing team's most serious offensive threat. That included shutting out UNC's Megan Bosica in the second half and keeping Virginia's Ashley McCulloch without a goal while she was matched with her in two games. She held Georgetown's Jordy Kirr without a goal in the first round of the NCAA's and limited Maryland's Kelly Kasper, a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, to just one score in the quarterfinals on May 17. Newton, a three-year starter, leads the senior class with 78 games played and 61 starts in her career. Newton became one of four Blue Devils to earn All-ACC status last month.

Hamm has made the adjustment to Division I lacrosse very smoothly this year. Hamm, a product of Wayne, Pa., has tallied at least one point in every game so far and leads the team in draw controls (51) and caused turnovers (28). She also ranks second in assists (21) and ground balls (38). Hamm earned a spot on the All-ACC team in just her first season as a Blue Devil and then topped that off by winning the ACC's Rookie of the Year Award. On March 3, she was named WomensLax.com's National Rookie of the Week and on March 18 honored as WomensLacrosse.com's National Rookie of the Week. Hamm ranks tied for 15th in Division I among active players (not including the NCAA class of 2008) with 20 consecutive games with a point.

Duke will play No. 2 seed Penn on Friday at 8:30 p.m., in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md. This marks Duke's fourth straight trip to the national semifinals and fifth appearance overall. Ticket information is available on www.ticketmaster.com. The game will be televised on CBS College Sports Network and live audio will be provided on www.pennathletics.com. If the Blue Devils should defeat the Quakers, they will play the winner of the No. 1 Northwestern-No. 5 Syracuse match in the national championship game on Sunday, May 25 at Johnny Unitas Stadium at 7:00 p.m.

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