Radford University women’s lacrosse players Emma Rogers (left) and Shea Swingle were named to the all-Big South preseason team earlier this week.
The Radford University women’s lacrosse team was selected to finish fifth in the 2018 Big South Conference Preseason Poll, led by junior midfielder Emma Rogers and sophomore defender Shea Swingle who were named Preseason All-Big South, the conference office announced earlier this week.
- Big South preseason poll
- 1. High Point (7) 63
- 2. Winthrop (1) 51
- 3. Campbell 51
- 4. Liberty 38
- 5. Radford 32
- 6. Longwood 26
- 7. Presbyterian 15
- 8. Gardner-Webb 12
The Highlanders tallied 32 points to take the fifth spot out of eight teams, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. Liberty sits just ahead with 38 points, Winthrop and Campbell tied for second with 51 points and defending champion High Point took the top spot with 63 points including seven of eight first-place votes.
Radford went 1-14 overall and 0-8 in the Big South in its inaugural season before showing huge improvements in 2017 to go 6-11 overall and 2-5 in conference play. Now, with a veteran roster and a talented freshman class, head coach Haley Marvine and company hope to exceed expectations in year three.
Rogers has a chance to build on a big 2017 season in which she became the first Highlander in program history to be named First Team All-Big South. The Reston native led Radford and ranked third in the Big South with a program single-season record 48 goals (2.82 goals per game). With 20 assists added on, Rogers finished with 68 points overall, good for third in the Big South.
Swingle made an immediate impact as a true freshman last season, serving as one of only seven Highlanders to start all 17 games. Hailing from Gainesville, Swingle led Radford with 47 ground balls collected and ranked fourth in the Big South for ground balls per game at 2.76. She also led Radford with 31 caused turnovers, ranking fourth in the conference with 1.82 per contest.
The duo joins current junior midfielder Callie Bonnel as the only players in program history to be named to the preseason all-conference team.
High Point earned both major preseason awards with senior attacker Darla Poulin taking Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and senior midfielder Erica Perrotta earning Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Radford kicks off the 2018 season at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. before returning to Cupp Stadium for its home opener against Robert Morris at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23. Conference play begins on March 31 when the Highlanders take on preseason favorite High Point on at the road at 3 p.m.
–RU Athletics
