WHERE ARE THEY NOW: With Brittany Palasik

Brittany  Palasik Breaks Division III Blocks Record

By Amy Russell
Washington College named junior field hockey defender Brittany Palasik, of Severna Park, Shorewoman of Week in November for the second time this season. In route to the honor, Palasik broke the Centennial Conference career and unofficial NCAA Division III single-season record for defender saves during the Centennial Conference tournament.

The Archbishop Spalding alum made two defensive saves during the team’s 2-1 overtime win at Gettysburg in the first round of the tournament. It was the second save of that game, the 29th of Palasik’s career, that broke the single season and career records.
Palasik went on to make four more defensive saves in the Shorewomen’s semifinal loss to Ursinus, finishing the season with 25 saves.
Palasik was selected second-team Division III All-South Region by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), and first-team All Centennial Conference by the coaches.
“Brittany really assumed the role this season… she has really blossomed,” assistant coach Lauren Leukhardt-Hardesty said. “She was in the right place at the right time - all the time. She’s incredibly smooth and her stick skills are phenomenal.”
Palasik’s field hockey career boomed this year. The junior has started every game since she arrived at Washington College three years ago. She made two defensive saves as a freshman in 2008, six in 2009, and improved to an impressive 25 this fall.
In addition to her prowess on the field, Palaski earned a spot on the 2009 Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll and was named to the National Field Hockey College Association’s Academic Squad in both 2008 and 2009. She spent most of this year nationally ranked by the NFHCA.
Palasik will graduate early this year from Washington College and go on to pharmacy school at the University of Maryland next fall, which means 2010 was her final year as a Shorewoman defender.
“She’s a great kid, she’s a part of everything at school and still maintains an excellent GPA - her teammates really look up to her, as they should,” said Leukhardt-Hardesty. “She’s going to be missed.”
As a team, the Washington College Shorewomen went 9-10 overall under the direction of head coach Rachel Boyle and assistant coaches Abby Cerrone and Leukhardt-Hardesty.
“Together, Brittany and our goalkeeper Shannon, who is also a very strong player, denied a lot of opportunities,” Luekhardt-Hardesty said. “If one wasn’t there the other was. Both are very talented and they made it very difficult for our competition.”