Deardorff, Lyons, Peacock Finalists for Female Athlete of the Year

WHO SHOULD BE THIS YEAR’S FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR? VOTE NOW!

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Kelli Jo Deardorff (Bedford, MA), Liz Lyons (Westwood, MA) and Jessica Peacock (Hopedale, MA) have been named finalists for the 2010-11 Merrimack Female Athlete of the Year.

Deardorff, a sophomore, has led the softball team to the NCAA Regional Championship, compiling a 6-2 record in the postseason with a 2.59 ERA. The Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, she owns a 23-14 record over 215 innings and has 151 strikeouts, while tossing 23 complete games and seven shutouts. Just a sophomore, Deardorff was a Northeast-10 All-Tournament selection, leading Merrimack to its first NCAA Tournament since 2002.

 A four-time all-conference selection and three-time first-team honoree, Lyons led the women’s lacrosse team to its third-straight Northeast-10 Semifinal appearance. She led the league in caused turnovers for the second straight season and was tied for second in ground balls, while chipping in with three goals and four assists.  A senior captain, Lyons set the school record for ground balls in a season and a career.

Peacock anchored the women’s soccer team’s defense, which allowed just 1.00 goals per game, as Merrimack finished second in the conference with an 11-3-1 NE-10 record. Second on the team with 12 points (four goals, four assists), she was named to the NSCAA and Daktronics All-Region second team. A first-team Northeast-10 honoree, she earned first-team All-New England honors and was a NSCAA Scholar All-Regional selection.

Fans can log on to facebook.com/merrimackwarriors to vote for who they think should be this year’s winner.

The winners will be announced at the student-athlete orientation in early September before the 2011-12 season.

Last year’s winner was Gabrielle Gramprey (Brockton, MA) from the women’s soccer team.

Over the next two weeks, Merrimack is unveiling the finalists for its major awards online at merrimackathletics.com. The winners will all be announced at the student-athlete orientation in early September.

May 9 – Team GPA finalists

May 10 – Female Rookie of the Year finalists

May 11 – Male Rookie of the Year finalists

May 12 – Female Scholar Athlete of the Year finalists

May 13 – Male Scholar Athlete of the Year finalists

May 16 – Female Athlete of the Year finalists

May 17 – Male Athlete of the Year finalists