FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-52-02-03
Thursday, November 21, 2002

Three Blue Jays Named to All-Commonwealth Conference Field Hockey Team

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Three members of the 2002 Elizabethtown College field hockey team have earned spots on the All-Commonwealth Conference teams. Senior forward Brandy Espenshade (Grantville, PA/Lower Dauphin) was named to the All-Commonweath Conference first team. Two Etown players were named to the second team, including senior forward Mindy Nace (Thompsontown, PA/ East Juniata), and junior midfielder Kate Gwilliam (Quakertown, PA/ Quakertown).

Espenshade earned her first berth on the all-conference team this year, leading the Blue Jays with 14 goals scored in 16 games played in 2002. In 2002, she also earned a spot on the All-South Atlantic Region Second Team and was chosen to represent Etown at the NFHCA North/South Senior All-Star Game at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. She tallied 14 goals and two assists for a team-leading total of 30 points. Espenshade started all 16 games for the Blue Jays this season, and over the course of four years, she totaled 32 goals and 13 assists for 77 career points. She was named the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week once in 2002. A 1999 alumnus of Lower Dauphin High School, she is majoring in social work at Elizabethtown College.

Nace earned an all-conference selection in 2000 as well as this year. She also earned a spot on the All-South Atlantic Region Second Team in 2000 and 2002. In 2002, Nace led Elizabethtown with eight assists, and she had five goals to total 18 points. Nace also started all 16 of Etown's games this year. Over the course of her four seasons, she compiled 21 goals, 17 assists, and 59 career points. She was also a member of the Middle Atlantic Conferences' All-Academic Team in 2000 and 2001. A 1999 graduate of East Juniata High School, she is majoring in biology/pre-medicine at Elizabethtown College.

This is Gwilliam's second time on the all-conference team, as she received the honor before in 2001. She started all 16 of the Blue Jay's games this season, and tallied six assists and two goals for a total of ten points in 2002. In three years, Gwilliam has amassed eight goals and 12 assists for 28 career points. A 2000 graduate of Quakertown High School, she is majoring in sociology/anthropology with a minor in criminal justice at Elizabethtown College.

The Elizabethtown College field hockey team was nationally ranked for much of the 2002 season and wrapped up the campaign with a 10-6 overall record. The Blue Jays went 5-2 in the Commonwealth Conference during the regular season and reached the conference playoffs for the third consecutive year.