UC Davis women's lacrosse secured a total of eight prospective student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the 2015-16 recruiting year, announced first-year head coach Tee Ladouceur.

Alphabetically, the prospect class comprises Anna Belenis of Davis; Rowan Chamberlain of Redding, Addie Dearden of Napa, Kate Graham of Belvedere, Jacqueline Kelly of Western Springs, Illinois; Sorana Larson of Ellicott City, Maryland; Maddie Myers of Walnut Creek, and Amanda Outcalt of Alamo. Each future Aggie is a high school senior who is expected to enroll at the university in the fall of 2016.

According to Ladouceur, the incoming freshman class will give the Aggies a variety of qualities and skills, particularly at midfield, a position of premium importance with next year's implementation of a 90-second possession clock. "Sorana, Addie, Maddie and Anna are all midfielders. With the shot clock coming, that's a big position for us."

"We have mostly middies and attackers coming in, and I look forward to them coming in and stepping up in a big way. The reason we were successful this year was that we had people who could step up when we needed them to. I look for big things from this class, and I hope they know that. If they don't know that now, they will soon."

Belenis, a hometown product from Davis High, earned All-Delta League first-team accolades in both basketball and lacrosse. As a defender, she led the Blue Devils in both ground balls and caused turnovers in each of her sophomore and junior seasons, combining for totals of 74 and 43, respectively, in those two years. Belenis also set a school basketball record for assists, notching seasons 101, 141, 120 and 128 from her freshman through senior seasons.

Belenis' name is also well-known in Aggie circles: both her father, Jim, and her grandfather George played football for UC Davis. Jim was also an assistant coach for Jim Sochor, whose name adorns the very field on which the Aggie women's lacrosse team plays its home games. Mr. B's Bar & Grill, also known as Mr. B's Branding Iron and Mr. B's Sports Page, was a local fixture for UC Davis sports fans for decades until its sale in 1998.

Dearden letters in soccer and tennis at Napa High School; however, she plays only club lacrosse as the school does not offer the sport. She helped BearLax U15 capture the West Regional title and place fourth at the US Lacrosse national championship, and scored 101 goals in 20 games in her two most recent seasons with Napa Force LC. A scholar with a 4.55 grade-point average and a No. 4 class ranking at NHS, Dearden also captained the Indians' soccer team as a junior and posted a 16-3 record for her tennis team this fall.

Larson will be the fourth Marylander in Aggie women's lacrosse history, a run that began with the arrival of goalie Alyssa Cranska (Arnold, Md.) in 2008. Known for her speciality in the self-draw, the Mt. Hebron High soccer/lacrosse star led all Howard County players in draw controls while ranking fifth in ground balls as a junior. Larson helped the Vikings to back-to-back 11-0 conference seasons in 2014 and 2015, chipping in 27 goals during those years. She also played eight years as a center for Maryland and District of Columbia Lacrosse, better known as M&D, which has an overall team record of 195-28-5 during her career.

Myers stars as a midfielder for both Las Lomas High School and the Bay Area Wave club. She earned All-Diablo Foothill Athletic League honors in each of her freshman, sophomore and junior years, including first-team distinction for her 49 goals and 22 assists in 2015. Myers also has garnered team awards of Most Improved to Offensive MVP to overall MVP through those same seasons. She played her club lacrosse for Triple Threat and currently Bay Area Wave for former UC Davis defender Megan Miller.

Among the attackers, another position with two 2016 grads, are Graham, Kelly and Outcalt. "Kate and Amanda are tall attackers and they'll help with our feeding game and dodging game, and Jacqueline is a small, scrappy attacker. I'm excited for them," said Ladouceur.

At 6 feet tall, Graham amassed goals totals of 64 and 62 with 107 combined draw controls during her sophomore and junior years at Marin Catholic High School. She garnered second-team All-Marin County Athletic League acclaim in both seasons, adding team MVP and Most Inspirational awards. Graham also enters her sixth year with the BearLax club. Overall, she is a three-sport standout for the Wildcats, adding All-MCAL honors as a goalie in water polo and a center in basketball. In fact, Graham is the first MC student to have earned 12 varsity letters â€" four in each of her three sports.

Kelly will become the second UC Davis lacrosse player to hail from the Prairie State, joining former goalkeeper and assistant coach Jordan Majka (Lake Forest, Ill.). She scored 41 goals in her first year as a starter for Montini Catholic, then followed with 53 goals, 30 assists and both all-state and All-America recognition as a junior in 2015. On the club scene, Kelly has played five years for the Chicago-based Lakeshore Lacrosse. She earned spots on Team Illinois/Wisconsin to the US Lacrosse national tourney in 2014 and 2015, the Midwest team to the UnderArmour Underclass tournament in 2015, and Team Illinois to the Brine National Lacrosse Classic in 2014.

Outcalt amassed goals totals of 66, 80 and 63 from her sophomore through senior seasons at Monte Vista High, respectively, setting program season records. A club veteran of BearLax along with Graham, Outcalt garnered All-North Coast Section and All-East Bay Athletic League honors on both the lacrosse and soccer fields. She also stays active away from competition, seriving as chapter president for the National Charity League and earning the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her humanitarian efforts in Uganda.

Chamberlain, a goalie from Redding, is the lone addition the defensive end. "Regardless of whether or not she starts, having another goalie is a step in the right direction. It means more reps and more shots," Ladouceur said.

Chamberlain holds the rare distinction of having starred for both the girls' and boys' lacrosse teams at Shasta High. She acheived a first by earning a spot to the NorCal 'A' team to nationals as a freshman, then served as the practice goalie for the boys' team. Chamberlain proved so skilled in that role that she joined her male counterparts as a full-fledged teammate by her junior year â€" in fact, she became the first female to earn All-Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association all-star honors in the boys' division. Chamberlain also played club ball for the Bay Area-bsed Triple Threat and BearLax clubs, plus a season with the XTEAM 2016 Black.

As Ladouceur continues to build her program, she seeks certain qualities in her prospective student-athletes. "I like hustle, grit, fearlessness, ability to learn quickly, ability to get along with your teammates," she said. "I don't have an old-school way of lacrosse. I want to see people challenge each other and challenge themselves. If you want to try some new stick work or some new move, let's work on it. If it's something that will stop an attacker, I want to work with it.

"One thing that made this year's team successful was that the players were so close with one another. They really did play for each other and our best days were when we had each other's backs. It wasn't just one or two people, it was a full team effort. Playing together, being creative and being willing to make mistakes if those mistakes can turn into positive things.

UC Davis finished its first season under Coach Ladouceur by qualifying as one of six competitors at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. The Aggies went 7-8 overall with a fourth-place 5-4 record in conference play.