Three William Smith College field hockey players were recognized at the annual Heron Awards Banquet on April 27. For the second year in a row, senior
Kaitlyn Hamilton was honored with the Charles P. Boswell II ’50 Field Hockey Award as the team’s most outstanding player, while junior
Sarah Gall and senior
Janelle Walkley were co-recipients of the Beverly Singer ’74 Field Hockey Coach’s Award.
Hamilton, who also took home the department’s
Marion Harrison Greene ’20 Award, is a two-time All-American midfielder and a four-time All-Liberty League and NFHCA All-Region selection. She was named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad four times, and is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree. This season, she ranked second on the team and ninth in the Liberty League with nine goals, and was fourth on the team with 22 points. Against Oswego, Hamilton netted four goals, tying the William Smith record for goals in a game.
Hamilton finished her career with 48 goals and 18 assists for 114 points. A starter in 74 consecutive games, she ranks sixth all-time in career goals, seventh in career points, and is tied for 15th in career assists.
Gall started all 17 games for the Herons this fall as a defender/midfielder, tallying a goal and an assist on the year. She has earned Liberty League All-Academic honors twice and NFHCA National Academic Squad honors three times so far in her three-year career. A leader by example, Gall continues to work hard to push herself and her teammates. She enters her senior season with five goals and one assist in 46 contests.
A defender, Walkley tied for second on team in assists with five, and added four goals this season. She produced a season-high three points with a goal and an assist at Oneonta, and netted the game-winning goal against Nazareth. A three-year starter, Walkley played in 68 games over the past four seasons, scoring 13 goals and dishing out 10 assists. She is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic and four-time NFHCA National Academic Squad honoree, and was selected to attend the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference.
Hamilton and Walkley, along with the rest of the senior field hockey class, guided the Herons to a 52-25 (.675) record, two Liberty League regular season and tournament championships, and two NCAA Tournament appearances over the past four years. This fall, William Smith posted its 25th consecutive winning season with a 9-8 overall record.