Hats off to Holland

And another one for Georgia Holland's mantel. The former Ward Melville star and current Yale freshman was named co-Ivy League Rookie of the Year earlier this month.

Holland, who started all 17 games and helped lead Yale to an 11-6 mark, became only the fourth Bulldog to earn the honor; the first since 1998. The midfielder/back led the Ivy League with five defensive saves and was third on the team with six assists. She scored four goals, including the winner in a 3-2 victory against Cornell, and assisted the winning goal in Yale's 1-0 overtime triumph over rival Harvard. Holland was named Rookie of the Week three times this season.

As many of you reading this already know, she was the 2009 Long Island Player of the Year. Holland led Ward Melville to three straight L.I. championships and a state title in 2008. She was also a first-team All-American and a member of the under-19 Olympic Development team.

Also of note: Holland no longer wears No. 15. The number was already taken by some lady named Erin Carter, who didn't want to part with it. Carter's a junior, so the freshman had to switch to No. 10. Hey, turns out Carter is pretty good, though. She was selected first-team All-Ivy. So, yeah, Georgia will definitely have to wait another year for that number. And, for anyone who missed the item in the Oct. 3 field hockey notes – Georgia's sister, Emma, now wears her old No. 15 for the Patriots.

For the curious: Georgia hasn't yet selected a major, but she's taking a lot of science classes and has an interest in pre-med.