TOWSON, Md. - Over the course of the next several weeks, TowsonTigers.com will count down the top 10 achievements of Towson University athletic teams and student-athletes for the 2009-10 year. Check back each Monday and Wednesday as we reveal this year's "Towson's Top Ten."

#8 – Going to the Dance

After having its reign as Colonial Athletic Association champions halted with a loss to Hofstra in the CAA semi-finals, the Tiger women’s lacrosse team sat in the Greene Turtle in Towson wondering if another trip to the NCAA Tournament was in store.

With a 13-4 record, the Tigers felt they had the body of work to get back to the playoffs for the third straight year. But, would the NCAA committee feel the same way?

It didn’t take long for the Tigers to find out the answer to that question. Yes - the Tigers were heading back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time in sixth years. 

The Tigers faced sixth-seeded Virginia in a very emotional game at Klockner Stadium in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and lost by a 14-12 margin. The Cavaliers, who were dealing with a tragedy, advanced to the NCAA quarter-finals before losing to North Carolina.

Despite the loss, reaching the NCAA Tournament just added one more item to the team’s list of accomplishments in a very successful 2010 season.

For the third straight year, the Tigers posted 13 wins and nationally ranked. However, the Tigers also had reached new heights by cracking the top 10 in the IWLCA/Under Armour® Division I Coaches Poll.

In addition, the Tigers also defeated a top ten team when they edged eighth-ranked Stanford by a 10-9 margin on March 28. They also narrowly lost to second-ranked Maryland just three days later.

The Tigers had plenty of talent on the field, including All-American Hillary Fratzke. Honored as the CAA Player of the Year for the second time in three seasons, she was the CAA’s leading scorer with 51 goals and also led the CAA with 70 draw controls.

With 199 career goals and 262 points, Fratzke finished her career as one of the all-time leading scorers in school history. She also holds school records for ground balls, caused turnovers and draw controls.

Meanwhile, senior attacker Jacie Kendall had an outstanding season for the Tigers by scoring 36 goals with 18 assists while senior midfielder Nikki Marcinik contributed 29 goals with 21 assists.

One of the big success stories of the 2010 season was the development of junior attacker Jess Dunn. Prior to her junior season, the Fallston, Md. native had scored just seven goals in her college career. She eclipsed that in the Tigers’ first four games before scoring a season-high six goals on just six shots at Syracuse on March 17.

Dunn, who also led the team with a .528 shooting percentage, was one of three Tigers to earn first team All-CAA honors. She was the only Tiger to score a goal in all 18 games and had nine “hat tricks.”

On the defensive end of the field, a pair of young players served as the Tigers’ leaders. Sophomore goalkeeper Mary Teeters had a tremendous second season for the Tigers, starting all 18 games. She posted a 9.48 goals against average and stopped 48.9 per cent of the shots she faced.

A two-time selection as CAA Player of the Week, Teeters earned second team All-CAA honors. She made a career-high 16 saves in the Tigers’ one-goal victory over Stanford.  

Freshman defender Alexa Demski also made an immediate impact for the Tigers, earning second team All-CAA honors. Named to the CAA All-Rookie Team, she ranked second on the team with 30 caused turnovers and 36 ground balls. She was one of seven players to start all 18 games and had a season-high four caused turnovers against George Mason and Richmond.

While Fratzke was named as an All-American for the third time in her career, Teeters and Demski were named to the IWLCA All-Mid Atlantic region first team. Marcinik and Dunn earned second team all-region honors.

Fratzke also earned CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year notice for the second time in her historic career.