2012 SUNYAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE AWARDS

FREDONIA, N.Y. -- SUNYAC coaches voted four Fredonia State women's lacrosse players to First Team All-Conference and chose one of them, sophomore Katie Kleine (Cazenovia), along with head coach Chris Case for annual awards.

Kleine was named 2012 Rookie of the Year and Case 2012 Coach of the Year. In addition, Kleine joined seniors Amy Simon (Amherst) and Megan Mietelski (Fairport), and junior Casey Chiesa (Baldwinsville) on the SUNYAC First Team.

The Blue Devils will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance Wednesday when they play host to St. John Fisher at University Stadium starting at 7 p.m.

This is the fourth straight year Simon, an attacker, has achieved All-SUNYAC status. She entered the season as the all-time Fredonia State career leader in goals and points and has added to those totals with a school-record 69 goals and 77 points. She also became the all-time leader in draw controls. She's also the all-time program leader in shots and shots-on-goal. 

Simon's 77 points would have broken her own school record -- 74 points in 2010 -- had it not been for Kleine. A sophomore midfielder who missed all last season with an injury, Kleine burst onto the scene with 82 points via 53 goals and a school-record 29 assists. She was also second on the team in ground balls and caused turnovers.

Mietelski and Chiesa were the linchpins to the Blue Devil defense.

An all-region defender last season, Mietelski also made First Team All SUNYAC last season. This year, she again drew the tougher defensive assignments while having her best season in the midfield signified by a school-record 71 draw controls -- including a school-record 10 in one game. She also has a team-high 31 caused turnovers, third most in program history. She's second all-time in draw controls and caused turnovers.

For the second straight season, Chiesa played every minute of every game in goal for the Blue Devils. As a result, her 14-4 won-loss record established a school record for wins in a season. She also had a 10.86 goals against average and a .412 save percentage. Twice during the season Chiesa was named SUNYAC Goaltender of the Week, and once was ECAC Upstate Defender of the Week.

For Case, the SUNYAC Coach of the Year award was second in women's lacrosse and fourth overall. He received his previous women's lacrosse honor in 2008. He was also women's soccer Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2009. In addition to setting a school record for wins in a season, Case guided this year's team to its highest finish ever in the SUNYAC -- second with a 7-1 league mark -- and its first national acclaim. The Blue Devils received votes in three straight Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association NCAA Division III polls in addition to its first NCAA tournament berth.

ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Simon and Kleine were named to the 2012 SUNYAC All-Tournament team last weekend. They were joined by MVP Maria Di Fato, Erin Kollar, Natalie Melaniff, Jamie Flood, and Shauna Hutchinson of Cortland; Ashley Caporizzo, Jamie Handley, and Kelsey Hodge of Buffalo State; and Kaila Maguire and Colleen Hathaway of Brockport.