RICHMOND Va. — The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced the 2021-22 CAA Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll and Honorees Friday morning. Rayna Deltuva and Blair Pearre both received Preseason All-CAA honors in addition to an honorable mention for Olivia Malamphy.
In the order of finish, the Tigers were voted to end the season in third place with 26 points. James Madison was picked to finish first in the league with five first place votes and 35 total points. Drexel was slotted to end in second, with two first place votes and 32 points. Rounding out the poll was Hofstra (21), Elon (15), Delaware (10) and William & Mary (8).
The All-CAA teams and order of finish was voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Rayna Deltuva
In the offseason, Deltuva made the decision to come back for a fifth year and was made a team captain for the 2022 season.
The graduate student started all 18 games on defense in the spring of 2021. She tied for second on the team with 15 caused turnovers and ranked third with 27 ground balls. Deltuva played a key role in Towson's clearing unit, which ranked 15th in the nation with a 90.3 percent success rate.
Deltuva registered a career-best five ground balls against Temple (March 10) then matched it versus Drexel (April 23). In the same Drexel contest, the Manchester, Maryland native also tied a career-best with three caused turnovers. Deltuva secured six games with multiple ground balls and four with at least two caused turnovers in the spring.
Blair Pearre
Pearre shined in her first full collegiate season, earning both All-CAA First Team and CAA All-Tournament honors. In addition, she was also named CAA Rookie of the Year and won CAA Rookie of the Week twice (April 13 and May 3). She was also named a Tewaaraton Watch List nominee, selected to the Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team as well as a Preseason All-CAA selection.
The junior led the Tigers in goals (58), points (66) and ground balls (33) and finished second in draw controls (68) in the 2021 season. She topped the CAA with 31 free-position goals and ranked second nationally, averaging 1.82 free-position goals per game. She became the ninth Towson player to score 50 goals in a season
Pearre scored a career-best seven goals, on just seven shots, in a win over William & Mary (April 10). She produced back-to-back five goal games against Georgetown (March 13) and St. Joseph's (March 20). The Pikesville, Maryland native scored at least two goals in 15-of-17 games played, including 11 hat tricks.
She controlled at least five draws seven times, including a career-best high against Elon in the CAA tournament. She collected a career-best seven points against William & Mary (April 10) and Elon (May 5), when she dished out a career-best three assists. Pearre also scooped up a career-best five ground balls on three occasions: William & Mary (April 10), James Madison (April 13) and Drexel (April 23).
Olivia Malamphy
Malamphy earned All-CAA Rookie honors in her first spring in the conference. As Towson's primary defensive midfielder, she often face guarded the opponent's top-scorer. She was named CAA Defender of the Week on February 16 after her collegiate debut in a win over Mount St. Mary's, a game in which she scooped up a career-best four ground balls, caused two turnovers and won a draw control.
The junior ranked in the top five on the team in three categories: ground balls (18), caused turnovers (14) and draw controls (13). Malamphy had six games with at least two ground balls and four games with multiple caused turnovers. She controlled a career-high five draws against Hofstra (May 1).
After welcoming Temple on Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. for a scrimmage, Towson will officially open its season on Feb. 12 against Mount St. Mary's at 1 p.m. on Tiger Field.
Preseason Player of the Year: Karson Harris, Drexel
2022 CAA Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll
1. James Madison (5) - 35
2. Drexel (2) - 32
3. Towson - 26
4. Hofstra - 21
5. Elon - 15
6. Delaware - 10
7. William & Mary - 8
2022 Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-CAA
Gillian Curran, Elon - Attack
Colleen Grady, Drexel - Attack
Belle Martire, William & Mary - Attack
Isabella Peterson, James Madison - Attack
Katie Whelan, Hofstra, Attack
Lizzy Fox, James Madison - Midfield
Karson Harris, Drexel - Midfield
Blair Pearre, Towson - Midfield
Lucy Schneidereith, Drexel - Midfield
Shannon Boyle, Hofstra - Defense
Rayna Deltuva, Towson - Defense
Rach Matey, James Madison - Defense
Molly Dougherty, James Madison - Goalkeeper
Honorable Mentions
Corinne Bednarik, Drexel - Attack
Zoe Bennett, Drexel - Goalkeeper
Mikaela Buoscio, Elon - Midfield
Maura Cissel, Drexel - Defense
Mairead Durkin, James Madison - Defense
Kacey Knobloch, James Madison - Attack
Olivia Malamphy, Towson - Defense
Belle McHugh, Drexel - Defense
Jess Smith, Hofstra - Goalkeeper
