Dukes Sweep VaSID Lacrosse Major Awards, Eight Earn All-State Honors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Following a record-setting season which culminated in the program's first national championship, James Madison swept the VaSID Lacrosse University Division major awards, as Kristen Gaudian was voted Player of the Year, Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe was named Coach of the Year and Molly Dougherty was tabbed Rookie of the Year, the Virginia Sports Information Directors announced Tuesday.

Gaudian was a Tewaaraton Award finalist and earned Inside Lacrosse Media First Team All-America accolades after leading the league in scoring and the nation in shooting percentage. The Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year scored 80 goals and 16 assists for 96 points with a NCAA-best .656 shooting percentage.

Her goal total was one shy of the program and CAA record, and she set a JMU single-season record with 29 free-position goals. She additionally won 79 draw controls, which is second on the school's single-season list. Gaudian is JMU lacrosse's first VaSID Player of the Year.

Klaes-Bawcombe guided the Dukes to a 22-1 record on their way to capturing the NCAA Division I women's lacrosse championship. JMU won its second straight conference championship to earn the No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA tournament. The Dukes notched NCAA wins against Virginia, No. 6 Florida, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 4 Boston College to win the title.

JMU finished 2018 setting program records in scoring (362), assists (156), points (518), free-position goals (73) and draw controls (330). The Dukes set a team record with four 40-goal scorers in the same season – Kristen Gaudian (80), Elena Romesburg (66), Hanna Haven (47) and Haley Warden (46). The award was the fifth for Klaes-Bawcombe, as she earned the honor for the second straight year and for the third time in four years.

Dougherty earned the starting job at goalkeeper in the second CAA game of the season and finished her redshirt freshman year with a perfect 14-0 record. A First Team All-CAA and All-Rookie honoree, she made 112 saves with a .465 save percentage and a 9.38 goals against average. She ranked second in the CAA both save percentage and GAA. Dougherty is the third JMU player to earn Rookie of the Year honors and the first since 2014.

A total of eight JMU student-athletes earned All-State honors, which set a program record. The Dukes also matched a single-season best with five First Team awardees. Joining Gaudian and Dougherty on the All-State First Team were Haley Warden, Elena Romesburg and Rebecca Tooker. The trio of Hanna Haven, Emma Johnson and Caroline Sdanowich were named to the All-State Second Team.

Gaudian, Tooker and Warden earned First Team All-State status for the second consecutive season, and Romesburg was an All-State member for the second straight year, as she was a Second Teamer in 2017.

JMU on VaSID All-State Lacrosse
Player of the Year: Kristen Gaudian
Coach of the Year: Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe
Rookie of the Year: Molly Dougherty

First Team
Kristen Gaudian
Elena Romesburg
Haley Warden
Rebecca Tooker
Molly Dougherty

Second Team
Hanna Haven
Emma Johnson
Caroline Sdanowich

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