Four Huskies, Coach Rosen, Earn BIG EAST Honors

FULL ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS AND MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

STORRS, Conn. (May 11, 2005) – Senior Tracy Mullaney (Cockeysville, Md.) became the University of Connecticut women’s lacrosse team’s first-ever four-time All-BIG EAST selection, and head coach Bonnie Rosen won the program’s first major conference honor to highlight the annual BIG EAST Conference awards. Mullaney was joined on the All-BIG EAST first team by sophomore Shannon Burke (Camillus, N.Y.). Seniors Jacqui Hamilton (Hopkington, Mass.) and Kelly Robinson (Horseheads, N.Y.) garnered second-team All-BIG EAST accolades while Rosen was named the league’s Coach of the Year in a vote of her peers. The four All-BIG EAST selections are an all-time high for the Huskies. UConn had three of its student-athletes chosen in both 2002 and 2004.

A unanimous All-BIG EAST selection, Mullaney assaulted the UConn record book in 2005. She broke the previous school benchmark of 55 points with her 59 this year. Meanwhile, Mullaney’s 45 goals rank second-best for a single season in UConn lore. Mullaney also led UConn with 28 caused turnovers to accompany her 33 draw controls which were also a team-high and included a school record tying seven against Yale on April 27. During the 2005 season, Mullaney became the first Husky to ever eclipse the 200-career point plateau and is presently tied for the school record with 153 career goals. A two-way midfielder, in 2005 Mullaney became the second player in BIG EAST history to be named the conference’s Player of the Week on both offense and defense in the same year. After being named second-team All-BIG EAST as a freshman in 2002, Mullaney has been named to each of the past three first teams.

Burke led UConn with 15 assists in 2005 and ranked second to only Mullaney with her 35 goals and 50 points. Her 37 ground balls were also a team-high. Burke already stands fourth in UConn history with her 26 career assists, seventh with her 85 points and ninth with 59 career goals. It is Burke’s first All-BIG EAST citation and she joins Mullaney (2003) as the only Husky sophomores to ever be so honored.

Hamilton earned her first career All-BIG EAST recognition after she netted 27 goals in 2005 while also contributing six assists for a total of 33 points, all career highs. The St. Mark’s School product is the seventh leading goal scorer in Husky history with her 67. Hamilton started her senior year in style by netting the game-winning goal in UConn’s 8-7 triumph over Stanford in the season-opener and kept that pace rolling, collecting hat tricks in four of her final six games played.

Robinson is one of five defenders named to the All-BIG EAST second-team, a group assembled without regards to on-field positioning. Georgetown’s Chloe Asselin is the only defensive field player to appear on the first team. Robinson was a stalwart on the Husky defense, logging 751 minutes of playing time in her 15 starts while gathering a career-high 17 ground balls and forcing 11 turnovers. Robinson proved to be a capable and physical defender, yet was flagged for only nine fouls and one yellow card in those 751 minutes of action. Robinson joins Melissa MacDougall (2004) as the only UConn defenders to ever be named All-BIG EAST.

Rosen, in her ninth season at the helm, became the school’s first-ever major conference award winner after guiding the Huskies to the finest season in school history. UConn posted an 11-5 record with its 11 wins standing as a school record. Each of UConn’s five losses in 2005 came to nationally ranked teams. Meanwhile, the 2005 Huskies went 3-2 in BIG EAST Conference play, becoming the first UConn side to ever post a winning record in league games. The Huskies have presently been ranked by the IWLCA for a school-record four consecutive weeks, peaking at an all-time high of No. 15 on April 25. Currently ranked 16th nationally, but not included in the field for the NCAA Championship, UConn will host postseason competition for the first time on Saturday, May 14, as the squad faces Boston College for the ECAC Championship at 2:00 p.m. at Morrone Stadium.