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Women's Lacrosse Team Honors 2011 Award Winners
The Sage Colleges athletic department gathered last month at Carmela’s Banquet House to bestow the program’s top awards for the 2010-2011 academic year. Sage, which now boasts 12 varsity athletic teams that compete as an NCAA Division III member and a full-member of the Skyline Athletic Conference, handed out a Gator of the Year award as the team’s Most Valuable Player Award in each sport as well as other honors at the banquet as athletic department staff, the college’s dignitaries, families and friends gathered to salute the excellence that occurred in 2010-2011 at Sage.
2010-2011 ECAC Merit Award: Elizabeth Donk (Sr., Phelps, NY/Midlakes) Women’s Basketball and Lacrosse
A three-year letterwinner in women’s basketball at Sage, this two-time basketball team captain provided the spark and leadership necessary to help the team to the program’s first Skyline Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament appearance. Her leadership and skills did not go unnoticed as she started all 24 games this season and leads the team with her 97 assists. She finishes her Sage career ranked second all-time with 297 assists, while her 145 career free throws is No. 9 on the Gator career list. She also played in 70 career games, which stands 11th best at Sage and added 491 career points with 312 rebounds. A leader on campus, Donk served as the vice president of Sage’s SAAC, Student-Athlete Advisory Council and was an officer for two years. She was very instrumental in the women’s basketball team’s involvement this past season with Jumper for Jacob, a fund raising contest to benefit Jacob’s Angels.
She capped her Sage career adding women’s lacrosse to her resume, a new sport for the student-athlete. Donk capped her athletic career with a hat trick in her new sport and earned acclaim from the Skyline Conference, earning a spot on the Skyline Conference Women’s Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll. She finished the 2011 women’s lacrosse season as the second leading scorer with five goals, and a team-best 23 ground ball pickups.
2010-2011 Sage Athletic Honor Society:
(The Sage College’s Intercollegiate Athletic Honor Society recognizes junior, senior, or graduate level student-athletes, who have maintained a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.2 or better and have participated as a member of a varsity team for at least two seasons.)
Elizabeth Donk (Sr., Phelps, NY/Midlakes), Women’s Basketball and Women’s Lacrosse
Kimberly Poetzsch (Sr., Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk), Women’s Lacrosse
*Indicates Previous Inductee
Gator of the Year: Ginelle Butler (Jr., Malta, NY/Ballston Spa)
Junior midfielder Ginelle Butler finished the 2011 season as the top scorer, having tallied a personal-best 14 goals. She added 12 draw controls and 18 ground ball pickups. She continues to add to her Sage career scoring and total point records as she has 34 points and 30 goals. She has also played in more games than any other player as she now has 32 appearances to her credit in the three seasons of varsity competition for the Gators.
Most Improved Player: Sarah Carciobolo (Jr., Niskayuna, NY/Colonie)
A newcomer to the sport, Sarah Carciobolo took her knowledge of basketball and retooled her skills for the lacrosse field. She had one goal on the season, while adding to the team’s success with her good stick skills and continued development as a player.
Best Defensive Player: Jen Poulin (So., Walton, NY/Walton Central)
A newcomer in women’s lacrosse, Jen Poulin used her
athletic ability to be a spark for the Gators on defense. Missing
the last game of the season with an injury, she started every game
and tallied 11 ground ball pickups with three draw controls and
three caused turnovers.
