Kansas City, MO – Trinity Brown and Bella Ricchiazzi continue to showcase why they are two of the perennial players in NAIA women's lacrosse since joining the Patriots in 2019.  The duo have added to their resumes as they garnered a trio of national accolades for their success on the field.  UC swept the NAIA Player of the Week honors, while Ricchiazzi was also named the IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week.
 
For the third time this season, Brown has garnered NAIA Defensive Player of the Week honors.  The junior becomes just the second player since the NAIA started women's lacrosse player of the week award to earn national honors three times in a season.  Brown joins Samantha Tullar in 2018  as they only two players to earn this distinction as Brown becomes the first three-time defensive player of the week.  The Fayetteville, GA native opened the week with nine draw controls, six ground balls and five caused turnovers in the Patriots win over tenth-ranked Georgetown.  Brown won all six draw controls in the first quarter helping UC jump out to the early lead.  Against Tennessee Wesleyan, Brown scooped the opening draw control of the game and netted a goal ten seconds in.  She finished that game with 12 draw controls, two caused turnovers and a ground ball.  On the season, the Brow has won a NAIA best 112 draw controls, which is third most for a Patriot in a season, while her 37 caused turnovers are a single season record for UC and third most in the NAIA. 
 
For the second time this season, Ricchiazzi has been named the both the NAIA and IWLCA Offensive Player of the Week for her performance.  The junior netted seven goals and tied her career-high and program record with seven assists in the win.  Ricchiazzi scored the first three goals within four minutes of the game start and dished out assists on three of the Patriots next four goals as UC took an 8-1 lead.  She finished with a career-high 14 points, which is second most in program history while she scooped a season-high eight draw controls in the game.  Ricchiazzi followed that up with four goals, five assists, nine points, and a pair of caused turnovers as Cumberlands defeated Tennessee Wesleyan.  Bella is second in the NAIA in assists and points, while leading the MSC in goals.  
 
Cumberlands is 13-1 on the season and has won 11 straight games.  The Patriots are coming off setting a program record 21 assists and 47 points in the win over the Bulldogs and leads the NAIA in goals, draw controls, and goals against average.
 
The Patriots will return to the field Wednesday, April 6, when they return to conference play against Thomas More.  The game is set for 5 p.m. with live video available here.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameDay, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.