May 19, 2005

FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University junior Michele Brady (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI) and senior Meg Dentler (Crofton, Md./Arundel) were among 32 players named to the 2005 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association/US Lacrosse (IWLCA/USL) Division I South all-Region team, which was announced Wednesday (May 18) by Amy Umbach, head coach at George Mason and chair of the IWLCA South Region committee.

Thirty-two players were also selected Wednesday to each of two other regions - North and Mid-Atlantic. Brady and Dentler are now eligible to receive national All-America honors among the 96 athletes that were named to their respective all-region teams. The 2005 IWLCA/USL All-America teams will be released Sunday, May 22, in conjunction with the 2005 NCAA Championship game at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Brady makes the team for the first time in her career. A defender, she received her second Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) honor last month after being named first-team all-CAA in voting by the league's head coaches. She earned second-team accolades in 2004. A starter in all 17 games and one of only two Patriot players to play every minute of every contest, Brady led Mason in caused turnovers with 30 and also totaled 38 ground balls and eight draw controls. She is ranked sixth all-time in the Patriot records in career caused turnovers (76). Brady paced a defensive unit that currently ranks sixth nationally and first in the conference with 11.71 caused turnovers per game and is 10th in the nation in ground balls as of NCAA statistics for games through May 15.

A walk-on as a freshman, Brady has continued to grow defensively in each of her three seasons at the Circle. After appearing in 16 games as a freshman with eight starts, she developed into a key mark-up defender as a sophomore, starting all 17 games and earning a nod to the all-CAA second team. In 2005, she held several all-Region and all-American caliber opponents to well under their scoring averages.

Dentler returns to the South all-Region team for the third consecutive year at goalkeeper, having received first-team honors in 2004 and second-team accolades in 2003. The first George Mason women's lacrosse player to be named CAA Player of the Year (2005), Dentler played every minute of every game in goal and concluded her season with the lowest goals-against average of her career (9.12), making 199 saves and allowing 158 goals - the fifth lowest in school history. Her 55.7 save percentage led the CAA and currently ranks seventh nationally.

A 2004 IWLCA/USL second-team All-American, Dentler wraps up her career at Mason as one of its most decorated lacrosse players, having been a four-time all-CAA selection, a three-time all-region honoree, a three-time all-Virginia award winner and the 2002 CAA Rookie of the Year. She ranks in the lacrosse career records book for games started (T-1st), games played (T-1st), ground balls (7th), goalkeeper minutes (1st), save percentage (1st), goals-against average (2nd) and saves (1st).

George Mason completed 2005 with a 7-10 overall record and posted its highest regular season conference finish, tying for second in the league race and earning a 5-2 mark - for the most conference victories in a season. The Patriots advanced to the CAA Tournament for the 12th consecutive season, which is the longest mark of any team in the league.

2005 South All-Region Team
First Team:
Amy Appelt, Sr., A, Virginia
Chloe Asselin, So., D, Georgetown
Allison Chambers, Sr., M, Georgetown
Katie Chrest, Jr., A, Duke
Jenn Cook, So., D, UNC
Lacey-Leigh Hentz, Sr., D, Johns Hopkins
Megan Huether, Jr., GK, Duke
Mary Key, So., A, Johns Hopkins
Tyler Leachman, Jr., A, Virginia
Nikki Lieb, Jr., M, Virginia
Kate McHarg, So., M, Loyola
Caline McHenry, Sr., D, Duke
Rachel Sanford, Fr.-R, M, Duke
Greta Sommers, Sr., D, Maryland
Coco Stanwick, So., A, Georgetown
Acacia Walker, Sr., M, Maryland
Second Team:
Gina Allen, Sr., D, UNC
Kelly Berger, So., M, James Madison
Michele Brady, Jr., D, George Mason
Sascha Cielak, Fr., D, Vanderbilt
Annie Collins, Sr., A, Maryland
Kim Connors, Jr., M, Virginia
Delia Cox, Jr., M, Maryland
Colleen Dalon, Jr., A, William & Mary
Ashlee Dardine, Sr., D, James Madison
Meg Dentler, Sr., GK, George Mason
Kate Hickman, Jr., A, Vanderbilt
Caroline Jacobs, So., M, Old Dominion
Christina Juras, So., M, UNC
Laura Shane, Fr., GK, Stanford
Becky Trumbo, Jr., A, Towson
Shannon Witzel, So., M, Towson