Dec. 7, 2011

• 2012 Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-Americans

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull (Charlotte, N.C.) has been named a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by Inside Lacrosse's 2012 Face-Off Yearbook it was announced on Wednesday.  Fifteen players were named to each of the top three teams while 43 players comprised the honorable mention squad.

Named the 2011 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, Hull enjoyed a spectacular rookie campaign as Navy's leading scorer, along will fellow freshman Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.). Ironically, Hull and Jones ended their first season at Navy with identical stats - a team-high 23 goals to go along with 15 assists for 38 points. Remarkably the dynamic duo also paced the Mids in Patriot League play with 20 points. Hull turned in a team-best 13 goals in conference action to complement his seven assists. He was also responsible for five extra-man goals over the course of the year and punched in the Mids' first man-down goal since Joe Lennon scored against Army on April 12, 2008.

Tied as the third-best best point producer among the nation's freshmen, he averaged 2.92 points per game. In fact, Hull produced a point in 12 of the 13 games, with Hopkins being the lone team to keep him off the stat sheet in 2011.

One of just 11 players in program history to score 20 or more goals in his rookie campaign, Hull turned in the sixth-most goals in school history with 23. It's the most goals by a Navy freshman since Nick Mirabito finished the 2005 season with 27. Meanwhile, his 15 assists this season are tied as the seventh most in school history by a freshman and the most since Ian Dingman dealt out 17 in 2003. Finally, his 38 points are tied as the fourth most by a plebe in Navy history, registering the most since Dingman's 40-point performance in 2003.
 
With both Hull and Jones posting 23 goals last spring, they became Navy's first rookie tandem to score 20 or more goals in school history. The duo also became the first tandem to each score four goals in a game (not the same game) as rookies. 

Hull is just the second Navy player to garner Patriot League Rookie-of-the-Year honors since the Mids joined the league in 2004, joining Billy Looney who picked up the honor in 2004. 

The Midshipmen kick off the 2012 campaign on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they play host to VMI.  Game time is set for 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.    
  
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Worth Smith Class: Freshman Hometown: Mooresville, N.C. High School: Charlotte Christian Height / Weight: 6-5 / 196 Position: Forward Birthdate: 04/19/1993

HIGH SCHOOL: Smith lettered three times at the small forward position at Charlotte Christian High School, graduating in 2011 ... attended Lake Norman High School as a freshman ... ranked as the 111th-best small forward nationally by ESPN.com and the 55th-best prospect in the state of North Carolina ... outstanding two-way player that averaged about 10.0 points per game, 6.0 rebounds per game and over a block per game as a senior ... overcome a slew of injuries, including emergency brain surgery as an 11-year old to remove an abscess caused by a sinus infection ... is now 100 percent healthy and uses his speed and explosiveness well on the hardwood ... competed in the 20th annual Charlotte Pro-Am All-Star Basketball Game ... played in Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge, which featured the top 80 high school underclassmen basketball players in the state of North Carolina (Classes 2011-13) ... scored 18 points against West Orange (Fla.) in the prestigious Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament ... led team to a runner-up finish in the Gonzaga DC Classic played in American's Bender Arena in early December, tallying 13 points in a title-game setback to Gonzaga College High School ... traveled with an all-star high school basketball team to France last summer ... was teammates with Anthony Gill, a 6-8 forward who signed with South Carolina ... had offers from Furman, the Citadel and Western Carolina

Navy's freshmen (mostly Worth Smith, Brandon Venturini, Donya Jackson and Jared Smoot) are averaging 23.3 points per game over the last three games, accounting for 70 of Navy's 174 points during that span (40.2 percent). The group scored 32 points against Colgate, the most for the freshman class against a Division I foe this year. The group is shooting 29-of-61 (.475) from the field during that span.

J.J. Avila, Worth Smith and Jordan Sugars have grabbed 347 of Navy's 621 rebounds, averaging 17.4 rebounds per game between them while grabbing 55.9 percent of Navy's rebounds. All three of them average at least 4.9 rebounds per game.

Congrats, Worth, on such a fine start to your Navy playing career!

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Alex Heyward and teammate Tucker Hull returned to NC on 1/28/12 as the Navy Men’s lacrosse team scrimmaged Duke in Durham.  The young Navy squad under new head coach Rick Sowell competed well against Duke who is ranked #2 in the country for the preseason.  Navy will travel to scrimmage UVA, ranked #1 in the country, on 2/4/12.  The regular season will start on 2/11/12 against VMI.

 

 

Alex Heyward   Class: Freshman Hometown: Charlotte, N.C. High School: Ardrey Kell Height / Weight: 6-0 / 180 Position: M

More on Heyward: A 2010 graduate of Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, N.C., Heyward attended the Naval Academy Prep School during the 2010-11 academic year ... a three-sport standout who lettered in lacrosse (4), football (1) and swimming (1) ... a two-time all-county lacrosse player who garnered Honorable Mention All-State (N.C.) honors his senior year ... served as team captain of the lacrosse team his junior and senior years ... named the team MVP as a senior ... member of the National Technical Honor Society ... his father, Sandy, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1984 ... his grandfather, Shannon Heyward, graduated from the Academy in 1957 and was a three-time All-American lacrosse player for the Midshipmen under the legendary Dinty Moore ... his great grandfather, Alexander Heyward, graduated from the Academy in 1930 ... full name is Alexander Nicholson Heyward ... born Aug. 12, 1992, in Jacksonville, Fla. ... son of Sandy and Doreen Heyward.

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