May 20, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has announced its team award winners for the 2011 season that ended with a 10-9 overall record and a loss in the BIG EAST Championship game to Loyola (Md.) on May 7. In voting done by the players for four awards, senior defender Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.) was selected as the team’s Notre Dame Monogram Club Most Valuable Player and the team’s 2002 Award as the top defensive player. For the second year in a row, senior defender Lauren Fenlon (Dayton, Md.) was selected as the team’s Unsung Hero and sophomore midfielder Jaimie Morrison (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) was named the team’s Most Improved Player. Fenlon picked up a second award as she received The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award that is awarded to each team’s top academic performer.
Doherty was named the Monogram Club’s Team Most Valuable Player and won the 2002 Award as the team’s top defensive player for the second consecutive season as she led the Irish in ground balls and caused turnovers for the 2011 campaign. The 2002 Award recognizes members of the 2002 class who continue to hold many of the program’s top defensive honors.
One of the nation’s top defensive players, Doherty was named first team all-BIG EAST and was selected to the BIG EAST all-tournament team as she helped Notre Dame reach the championship game for the second time in three years. A four-time selection to the BIG EAST Honor Roll this season, Doherty set career bests in ground balls (56), draw controls (38) and caused turnovers (46), setting a Notre Dame single-season mark in caused turnovers. She finished the year ranked first in the BIG EAST in caused turnovers (2.42 per game) and ground balls (2.89 per game) and was third and 15th nationally in each category. She also helped the Irish record their third-lowest goals-against average (9.58) in the 15-year history of the program.
Senior defender Lauren Fenlon was the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award winner and was named the team’s Unsung Hero for the second consecutive year.
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A preseason Tewaaraton Trophy candidate, Doherty served as team captain in 2011 and finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in caused turnovers (117), tied for second in ground balls (177) and was fifth in draw controls (115) and tied for fourth in games played (72). She also contributed offensively during her career as she had 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points. A first team IWLCA All-American as a junior, she is a candidate for All-American honors again this season.
Fenlon joins Doherty in collecting two postseason awards as she showed her skills in the classroom and on the field. A two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, Fenlon earned the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award after recording a 3.33 grade-point average as a Sociology major at Notre Dame. She will graduate on Sunday, May 22.
On the field, Fenlon was named the team’s Unsung Hero for the second year in a row as she teamed with Doherty to give the Irish a talented 1-2 punch on the Notre Dame backline. On of the team’s top shutdown defenders, she made life miserable for opponent offenses in the defensive zone. A total team player, the Dayton, Md., native had 14 ground balls, two draw controls and seven caused turnovers for the season. She helped Notre Dame turn in its the third-lowest goals-against average (9.58) in the 15-year history of the program.
Sophomore Jaimie Morrison was selected as the women’s lacrosse team’s 2011 Most Improved Player Award winner.
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For her career, the hard-working defender was a three-year starter and played in 66 career games with 74 ground balls, 13 draw controls and 32 caused turnovers. She recorded the only goal and assist of her career this season.
Rounding out the list of award winners is Morrison who was selected as the team’s Most Improved Player by her teammates. After playing in just two games as a freshman and scoring one goal in 2010, Morrison played in all 17 games in 2011 and finished the year with 11 goals and three assists for 14 points. She also became a key member of the Irish draw control unit, as she took draws on a regular basis during the year. She finished the year with six ground balls, eight draw controls and two caused turnovers. Morrison had a strong performance in the BIG EAST Tournament, scoring a pair of goals in the 13-10 win in the semifinal win over Georgetown and then two more goals in the 12-10 loss to Loyola in the title game. Her two goals versus the Greyhounds came in the second half and helped keep the Irish in the game.
Notre Dame’s 10-9 season marked the sixth consecutive year that the Irish have won 10 or more games and they have now appeared in all five BIG EAST Championships, winning the title in 2009. Since the start of the 2006 season, Notre Dame is 75-38 (.664).