May 4, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The BIG EAST released 2016 conference honors Wednesday morning, with Kelly Chandler, Emma Dagres and Callahan Kent named the Second Team All-BIG EAST.
This is the second season in a row that the Commodores have had three or more student-athletes honored by the league, with Dagres earning a spot on the second team two seasons in a row.
Vandy goalie, Callahan Kent, was a dominant force in the cage for VU the entire year. At the conclusion of the Commodore’s season, Kent ranked fourth in the nation in saves with 156, seventh in saves per game average with 9.75 and 19th in the nation with a 48.4% save percentage. The raising senior now owns the Vanderbilt record for saves per single game, with 17 against then-No. 9 Penn State.
“First I’d like to speak on Callahan (Kent),” said head coach Cathy Swezey. “I talked all year on the kind of goalie she is and how important she’s been for our program. There are some top goalies in our conference, and I knew it could be a stretch for her to get honored because of our record, but her standout performance went recognized anyways. The number of saves she made overall and her national rankings… I’m hoping that she may even be strong enough to receive other national honors. She’s just great, and we’re so excited to have her next year.”
Having never missed a single game during her four years, Emma Dagres has been a threat in the Commodore lineup each season, causing 24 turnovers this year and 56 overall. The Weston, Mass. native led the squad this season in ground balls with 31, was second in shots with 69 and third in scoring with 18 goals.
“Emma (Dagres) has been just one of the consummate players in our program the last four years. You can always rely on her to be one of our top matchup defenders and to slow down any top attacker from another squad. Her leadership skills and her devotion to this program have been second to none. We’re just so pleased that she was recognized, because she has just been so consistent and so good for us.”
After retuning from an injury her junior campaign, Chandler redshirted and came back with a vengeance… leading the Commodores in scoring with 37 goals on 75 shots, and earned a team-high seven hat ticks this season, including four goals against Louisville and Penn State and five against Furman. The attacker ends her career with 93 goals for the black and gold.
“Kelly (Chandler) has been inconsistent in a sense, but only because she hasn’t been on the field… Kelly’s career has been riddled with injury and yet she is such a big name… people know of her because of her ability to come back from an injury and make an impact immediately. It was great to see her leadership skills step up as well. For her to be able to produce the way she did coming off the ACL from last year was great. We’re just really pleased with all three, and couldn’t be happier to have those representatives on the BIG EAST team.”
