Chapman, Hormes Lead HPU WLAX’s Big South Honor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The High Point University women’s lacrosse team had nine student-athletes honored as part of the Big South Conference’s women’s lacrosse annual awards, the conference announced Thursday (April 25).

Redshirt-junior Meredith Chapman was honored as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as well as Scholar-Athlete of the Year and sophomore Abby Hormes was selected as the Big South Offensive Player of the Year.

Chapman and Hormes were also named to the All-Big South First Team, along with senior Samantha Herman, juniors Ashley Britton and Hayley Norris and sophomore Sarah Zeto. Senior Allie Little and sophomore Rachel Foster were honored on the All-Big South Second Team, while senior Valierie was an honorable mention selection.

The nine Panthers and six first-team honorees ties the 2018 HPU squad for the most All-Big South selections in a single season. Chapman is the second Panther to win Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Jasmine Jordan in 2014. Hormes is the third Panther to win Offensive Player of the Year, joining Samantha Brown (2017) and Mackenzie Carroll (2014). Chapman’s Defensive Player of the Year honor is the fifth in program history, joining Jordan (2013, 2014), Christina Del Sesto (2017) and Erica Perrotta (2018).

The Panthers (13-4) went 6-0 in Big South play to go undefeated in conference action for the third-consecutive year. HPU is the top seed for the Big South Tournament, to be held April 26-28 at Vert Stadium. High Point hosts No. 4 Campbell in the semifinals Friday (April 26) at 4 p.m.

Meredith Chapman – R-Jr. – Defense
Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year
All-Big South First Team, Big South All-Academic Team
Chapman leads HPU and the Big South and is ninth in the nation in caused turnovers (2.41 per game). Her 42 caused turnovers is an HPU single-season record. Chapman also leads High Point with 41 ground balls and is second with 59 draw controls. Also honored for her academics, Chapman is majoring in biology and holds a 3.948 cumulative GPA. This is Chapman’s second All-Big South First Team honor.

Abby Hormes – So. – Attack
Offensive Player of the Year, All-Big South First Team
Hormes leads the Panthers and the Big South in points (86) and assists (32) and leads HPU and is second in the conference with 55 goals. Her 86 points rank seventh in the nation and is one shy of the single-season HPU record. Hormes also leads the team with 72 draw controls. Hormes was the Big South Freshman of the Year and an All-Big South Second Team selection in 2018.

Samantha Herman – Sr. – Midfield
All-Big South First Team
Herman has recorded 30 points on 24 goals and six assists and is third on the team with 43 draw controls and tied for second with 35 ground balls. This is Herman’s third-consecutive year on the All-Big South First Team. She was the 2018 Big South Tournament Most Valuable Player and was named to the 2016 All-Tournament Team.

Hayley Norris – R-Jr. – Defense
All-Big South First Team
Norris anchors the Panthers defense and mainly draws the opponent’s best attacker. Norris is second on the Panthers with 29 caused turnovers and is fourth on the team with 34 ground balls. Norris was a member of the 2018 All-Big South Second Team.

Ashley Britton – Jr. – Midfield
All-Big South First Team
Britton is second on the Panthers with 48 points with a career-high 39 goals and nine assists. She also recorded 28 draw controls, 24 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. Britton is now a three-time All-Big South First Team selection.

Sarah Zeto – So. – Goalie
All-Big South First Team
Zeto is the first HPU goalie to earn All-Big South First Team honors since 2014 (Julia Burns). Zeto ranks first in the Big South and 24th in the nation with a 9.97 goals against average. She is also first in the conference and 36th in the country with a 46.8 save percentage.

Allie Little – Sr. – Attack
All-Big South Second Team
Little is fourth on the Panthers with 40 points. She has recorded career highs in points, goals (21) and assists (19). She has five games this season with four points, including four of the last five.

Rachel Foster – So. – Attack
All-Big South Second Team
Foster is third on the Panthers with 42 points. She has nine multi-goal games and has recorded career highs in points, goals (29) and assists (13). Foster had a career-high nine points on seven goals and two assists against Campbell.

Valerie Pelling – Sr. – Midfield
All-Big South Honorable Mention
After recording 13 points in 27 games before 2019, Pelling has tallied 33 points on 24 goals and nine assists in her senior campaign. She also has career highs in ground balls (22), caused turnovers (11) and draw controls (7).

All-Big South First Team
ATT – Abby Hormes, Soph., High Point
ATT – Melissa Placek, Sr., Campbell
ATT – Lauren Morris, Soph., Winthrop
MF – Samantha Herman, Sr., High Point
MF – Kaitlin Luccarelli, Jr., Longwood
MF – Ashley Britton, Jr., High Point
D – Meredith Chapman, R-Jr., High Point
D – Hayley Norris, R-Jr., High Point
D – Emily Torris, Sr., Winthrop
GK – Sarah Zeto, Soph., High Point
AL – Katie Bendrick, Fr., D, Radford
AL – Amanda Chasin, Sr., D, Campbell
AL – Emma Rogers, Sr., MF, Radford

All-Big South Second Team
ATT – Rachel Foster, Soph., High Point
ATT – Annie Pazulski, Sr., Campbell
ATT – Allie Little, Sr., High Point
MF – Sam Carey, Jr., Campbell
MF – Dana Joss, Jr., Longwood
MF – Talen Francis, Soph., Gardner-Webb
D – Corri Calandra, Jr., Longwood
D – Monique Martin, Gr., Gardner-Webb
D – Rose Prizzi, Sr., Campbell
GK – Alaina Girani, Sr., Winthrop
AL – Abby Hanscom, Sr., ATT, Gardner-Webb
AL – Mia Creighton, Fr., ATT, Winthrop
AL – Nicole Fordyce, Fr., ATT, Longwood

All-Big South Honorable Mention
AL – Lauren Asher, Fr., M, Winthrop
AL – Adrian Rius, Sr., ATT, Radford
AL – Callie Bonnel, Sr., M, Radford
AL – Valerie Pelling, Sr., M, High Point
AL – Hudson Roarick, Sr., D, Presbyterian College

Big South All-Academic Team
Melissa Placek, Sr., ATT, Campbell
Lauren Deaver, Soph., MF, Gardner-Webb
Meredith Chapman, Sr., D, High Point
Corri Calandra, Jr., D, Longwood
Natalie Barnett, Sr., MF, Presbyterian College
Brittany Rinaldi, Jr., MF, Radford
Olivia Deaver, Soph., ATT, Winthrop

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Abby Hormes, So., ATT, High Point

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Meredith Chapman, R-Jr., D, High Point

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Mia Creighton, Fr., ATT, Winthrop

COACH OF THE YEAR: Elaine Jones, Longwood

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Meredith Chapman, R-Jr., D, High Point