Gators Lacrosse Players earn All-American honors

Florida’s Kitty Cullen and Ashley Bruns were honored as All-Americans, the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) announced on Monday. This marks Bruns’ and Cullen’s third All-America honors of the 2011 season. Their respective first- and third-team IWLCA All-America recognitions are the first in program history. The duo alongside Sam Farrell, were also named All-Americans by WomensLacrosse.com as Cullen was named to the first team, Farrell to the second team, and Bruns on the third team.

The IWLCA honored 51 student-athletes in Division I with a selection on the All-America teams for 2011. The IWLCA will honor the National All-Americans at the IWLCA All-American banquet on June 11, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pa. The American Lacrosse Conference had nine All-Americans represented, while the Atlantic Coast Conference led with 17 athletes honored as All-Americans.

Cullen’s First Team All-America honor caps a remarkable sophomore campaign for the Rockville, Md. native, as she was named a consensus All-American (First Team IWLCA, First Team WomensLacrosse.com, WomensLax.com), IWLCA First Team All-South Region, the American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-ALC.

Cullen led the nation in scoring for the entire 2011 regular season, scoring 77 goals on the year and averaging 3.85 goals per game to lead the ALC. She also averaged 4.3 points per game, a .501 shooting percentage and a .755 shot on goal percentage. Cullen scored six goals or more four times this season (6 vs. Denver, Ohio State, Northwestern, 7 vs. Penn State) and scored at least a hat trick in nearly every game (16 out of 20). The Rockville, Md. native notched a point in every game this season and holds the record for the second-fastest opening goal scored in NCAA history, as she found the back of the net in just eight seconds in the Gators’ 13-7 victory over then-No. 16 Penn State.

The sophomore attacker was named ALC Offensive Player of the Week four times, WomensLacrosse.com National Offensive Player of the Week twice, WomensLax.com National Player of the Week once and Nike National Player of the Week once.

Cullen was the first sophomore since Northwestern’s Kristen Kjellman, a three-time ALC Player of the Year and two-time Tewaaraton Award recipient, to be named ALC Player of the Year, and was one of only three sophomores named First Team All-America. Cullen is the program leader in career goals with 108 and is second in career points with 123 (108 goals, 15 assists).

Bruns’ Third Team All-America nod is another feather in the cap of a tremendous two years in the Orange and Blue. Bruns is also a consensus All-American (Third Team IWLCA, Third Team WomensLacrosse.com, WomensLax.com) and was named IWLCA Second Team All-South Region and First Team All-ALC after leading the Gators in assists (28) while also ranking second in points (74) and goals (46), and third on the team in caused turnovers (17).

She averaged 3.7 points per game to put her among the top 50 scorers in the country. Bruns scored at least five points in nine contests this season, including tying her career highs in goals (6 vs. Syracuse), assists (4 vs. Denver and Penn State) and setting a new high in draw controls twice this season (3 vs. Georgetown and Penn State).

Bruns was honored as the ALC Offensive Player of the Week, the WomensLacrosse.com National Offensive Player of the Week and the WomensLax.com National Player of the Week for her performances against Colgate and then-No. 11 Syracuse, as she netted six goals on seven shots. She scored at least three goals on nine occasions this year and scored at least three points in 14 out of 20 games in 2011. Bruns was the 2010 National Rookie of the Year and leads the Gator program with 153 points at Florida (94 goals, 59 assists).

Farrell was named WomensLacrosse.com Second Team All-America after racking up 27 ground balls on the season. She held all but two of her marks to less than half of their season scoring average.

Farrell was named First Team All-ALC and ALC All-Tournament Team, while also garnering ALC Defensive Player of the Week and WomensLacrosse.com Honor Roll recognition for her performances against then-No. 9 Georgetown and Temple. Farrell had six draw controls total in those games, notching three against both the Hoyas and the Owls.

In Florida’s upset of Georgetown, Farrell constantly matched up with 2011 All-Region honoree Jordy Kirr, Georgetown’s best scorer, who only scored twice against the Gators and was only able to get off three shots for the entire evening. Farrell and the Florida defense frustrated the Georgetown offense, as they were continually unable to penetrate the Gator backfield. In the Gators’ throttling of Temple, Farrell was part of a stellar Florida defense who held Temple to just four goals and only four shots in the entire second half. Her work through the midfield and around the cage throughout the season was more than could be written on a scoresheet.