Preseason Big South Accolades

MACON, Ga. – Mercer women's lacrosse was picked to finish in second in the Big South conference while Isea Cryne and Hailey Rhatigan were named to the All-Conference team.

High Point, the defending champion, was picked to finish first in a vote from the league's head coaches. The Panthers finished with nine of the 10 votes, while Mercer picked up the outlier.

Cryne, the SoCon Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, stopped 110 shots in almost 685 minutes in the cage for the Bears in 2021 en route to a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. A season ago, Cryne was named to the SoCon's preseason all-league team.

Rhatigan, the anchor of the Mercer offense from a season ago, racked up 61 points – 47 goals and 14 assists – in 14 games in the 2021 season. Last year, the senior totaled five or more points on six occasions, even putting up 10 (six goals and four assists) in a 13-11 win over Coastal Carolina in the SoCon tournament semifinal.

Mercer is entering their inaugural season as an associate member of the Big South following membership in the SoCon.
The Bears will open their season on February 18^th at Five Star Stadium when they welcome Oregon.

Rk    Team (first-place votes)      1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9      10     Points
1.     High Point (9)                  9      1      -      -      -      -      -      -      -      -         99
2.    Mercer (1)                         1      6      2      1      -      -      -      -      -      -         87
3.    Campbell                         -      3      6      1      -      -      -      -      -      -         82
4.    Furman                           -      -      2      6      1      -      1      -      -      -         68
5.    Winthrop                         -      -      -      -      7      1      1      1      -      -         54
6.    Radford                          -      -      -      2      2      4      1      1      -      -         53
7.    Gardner-Webb                  -      -      -      -      -      2      4      2      2      -         36
8.    Longwood                       -      -      -      -      -      1      2      1      5      1         27
9.    Presbyterian College          -      -      -      -      -      1      1      2      2      4         23
10.   Wofford                          -      -      -      -      -      1      -      3      1      5          21

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
ATT   Abby Hormes, Gr., High Point
ATT   Julianna Sanchez, R-Soph., Campbell
ATT   Hailey Rhatigan, Sr., Mercer
MF    Sam Bischoff, Soph., Campbell
MF    Hannah Dintino, Soph., Furman
MF    Alyssa Angelo, Soph., Winthrop
D      Kimora Bailey, R-Soph., Winthrop
D      Rebekah Taylor, Jr., Campbell
D      Jenna Kraft, Sr., High Point
GK    Isea Cryne, Gr., Mercer
AL    Abby Edmisten, MF, Jr., Presbyterian College
AL    Heather Lobas, D, Sr., Gardner-Webb
AL    Meagan Beal, ATT, Jr., Furman

PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Abby Hormes, ATT, Gr., High Point

PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kimora Bailey, D, R-Soph., Winthrop

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Players Mentioned

Hailey Rhatigan

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