May 6, 2008

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst College women's basketball coach Deanna Richard has announced the signing of three players for the 2008-09 season. Abby Allen of New Castle, Pa., Nikki Frederickson of Jamestown, N.Y., and Megan Hoffman of Erie, Pa. have all committed to play at Mercyhurst.

Allen is a 5-foot-9 guard and is the daughter of S.B. and Karen Allen. At New Castle High School, she ranked fifth in the state in assists in 2007, averaging 8.9 points, 5.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals. She was a team captain as a senior and her squad won the WPIAL Championship in 2006-07. New Castle won WPIAL section championships three times and advanced to the PIAA playoffs four times during her high school career.

Frederickson, a 5-9 guard, played at Jamestown High School and is the daughter of Bob and Michelle Frederickson. She was a four-year starter, scoring 1,817 career points and averaged 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game as a senior. She also shot 55 percent from the field and 75 percent from the free-throw line and was named Third Team All-New York State Class AA. She scored a school record 45 points in one game and was First Team All-ECIC and First Team All-Western New York State. Jamestown won three league championship and three sectional championships during her time on the team.

Hoffman, a 5-foot-6 guard, played locally at Villa Maria Academy and is the daughter of Bob and Kathi Hoffman. She has strong ties to athletics locally as her aunt Mary played basketball at Mercyhurst and her brother Greg golfed at Mercyhurst, while her other brother Sean played football at Gannon. Hoffman was a four-year varsity player and three-year starter at Villa Maria, a squad ranked No. 1 in the state in AA this past year. She guided the team to a District-10 championship and set the school's single-season three-point record as a junior. She was named second team all-region in 2006-07 when Villa Maria was the state runner-up in AA.

Mercyhurst went 7-20 in Richard's first year at the helm in 2007-08 without a senior on the roster. The Lakers played their final season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and will begin competition in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for 2008-09.