NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The University of Richmond women's lacrosse team has earned recognition from the Atlantic 10 following another successful regular season, as eight Spiders were honored with All-Conference accolades.
 
For the second-straight season, senior defender Julie Ball has been named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, making her the first student-athlete in A-10 women's lacrosse history to earn the honor more than once.
 
Ball, along with redshirt sophomore attacker Sam Geiersbach, was named First Team All-Atlantic 10. Senior attacked Marissa Brown, junior midfielder Madison Ostrick and junior goalkeeper Megan Gianforte earned Second Team honors, while freshman defender Caroline Atkinson was named to the All-Rookie Team. Ball and senior attackers Mia Castagnero and Aly Fries also collected A-10 All-Academic Team honors.
 
Ball, Castagnero and Fries become the first trio in program history to earn All-Academic honors in the same season, while the five First and Second team honorees are the most of any A-10 squad this season.
 
Ball continued her dominance on the defensive end this season, leading the conference and the nation in both ground balls (66) and ground balls per game (3.88). A three-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honoree in 2019, she is fifth in the nation in caused turnovers per game (2.65), and with 111 caused turnovers in her career is just 11 shy of the program record of 122. Ball hit 100 career ground balls, caused turnovers and draw controls this season as the leader of the No. 1 scoring defense in the Atlantic 10. Off the field, the Leadership Studies major serves as the Co-President of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies while earning A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll accolades.
 
Geiersbach returned to the field this season after sitting out 2018 and proved herself to be one of the top attackers in the conference. Her 70 points through the regular season were good for third in the conference, while her dominant performance in Atlantic 10 play placed her second in points and third in goals through the nine-game stretch. Geiersbach totaled five or more points in eight games this season and scored at least a hat trick in nine games. She hit the 100-career goal and 150-career point marks this season, becoming the fastest Spider to 100 points in program history.
 
Brown earned her second A-10 Second Team honor this season, finishing third in the conference with 70 points and tying for first with 38 assists, just six shy of the program record that she set as a sophomore. A two-time A-10 Player of the Week in 2019, Brown set the program record with 131 career assists, and finished the regular season 10^th in the nation in assists and 19^th in assists per game. She hit the 100-career goal and assist marks this season while also becoming just the fourth Spider to do so in program history.
 
Ostrick had a breakout year in the midfield, playing a large role for the Spiders on both ends of the field. The junior tallied 34 goals and 38 points on the year while also helping the Spiders post the No. 1 scoring defense in the A-10. Ostrick finished the regular season ranked second in the nation in free position percentage while also sitting at fifth in the nation in shot percentage. She ranks second on the team in draw controls (40) and caused turnovers (23) and third in ground balls (30).
Gianforte earned her third-straight All-Conference honor after playing all but 38 minutes in cage through conference play and helping the Spiders post the No. 1 scoring defense in the A-10. The junior logged double-digit saves in seven games this season while also earning A-10 Defensive Player of the Week once. Gianforte finished the regular season allowing just 10.10 goals per game and collecting 50 ground balls, good for third in the A-10.
 
Atkinson played an immediate role for the Spiders on defense, starting all 15 contests in which she played. The rookie helped the No. 1 defense in the A-10 hold opponents to just 9.65 goals per game while also causing seven turnovers and collecting 21 ground balls through the regular season.
 
Castagnero had a standout season on offense for the Spiders after suffering from injury over the last two seasons. An IWLCA Academic Honor Squad honoree and member of the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, the senior scored 41 goals through the regular season, including five in the regular-season finale against Saint Joseph's. Castagnero will earn her degree in Healthcare Studies and Psychology.
 
Fries earns her third-straight A-10 All-Academic Team honor, becoming just the second Spider to do so and first since Claire Cunniff from 2006-08. An IWLCA Academic Squad honoree and member of the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll, Fries has served as a key reserve on attack for the Spiders this season, scoring 13 goals and adding four assists for 17 points, and will earn her degree in Business Administration.
 
The third-seeded Spiders are now set to face off with No. 6 seed Duquesne on Thursday, April 25, at 4 p.m. in the opening round of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament. The winner will take on No. 2 seed and host George Mason on Friday,