NORTHBOROUGH, MASS. – Deanna Balsama of the Aztec lacrosse team was named to the IWLCA Division All-West/Midwest Region Second Team Thursday to become the first Aztec in program history to be named to an All-Region team.
In her first year at SDSU after three seasons at George Mason, Balsama (Sea Isle, New Jersey) set school records for points (73), goals (62) and shots (122) in a single season. She finished fourth in the nation in free position goals per game (1.27) and fifth in goals per game (4.13).
"Deanna made a seamless transition into our program and her playmaking abilities gave us a huge advantage," Head coach Kylee White said. "Her offensive numbers are especially impressive because she was consistently face guarded or marked by the opposition's best defender."
At Oregon, in just her fifth game as an Aztec, Balsama set a new program record when she scored eight goals against the Ducks. In her next game, against No. 10 Princeton, she scored eight goals again and added two assists. Her 10 points against the Tigers tied a school record and was the most in a game in nine years (Michaela Jarvis).
Balsama scored four or more goals in 10 of SDSU's 15 games and 62 of her 122 shots found the back of the net, giving her the highest shot percentage (.508) on the team.
Balsama will be returning for the 2023 season, utilizing the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19.
The West/Midwest Region has 28 schools, spanning from the West Coast to as far east as Pennsylvania. The first and second teams feature 32 players total and Balsama was one of 11 attacks selected from the region.
ILWCA West/Midwest Region
First Team
| Madison | Ahern | University of Notre Dame | Junior | Attack |
| Ali | Baiocco | Stanford University | Senior | Attack |
| Bea | Behrins | University of Denver | Graduate | Attack |
| Kasey | Choma | University of Notre Dame | Junior | Midfield |
| Erin | Coykendall | Northwestern University | Junior | Attack |
| Olivia | Dooley | University of Southern California | Junior | Defense |
| Lauren | Gilbert | Northwestern University | Graduate | Attack |
| Jill | Girardi | Northwestern University | Graduate | Midfield |
| Kelsey | Huff | University of Southern California | Graduate | Midfield |
| Ashley | Humphrey | Stanford University | Freshman | Attack |
| Chloë | Johnson | The Ohio State University | Senior | Draw Specialist |
| Kailee | Lammers | University of Denver | Senior | Defense |
| Kristin | O'Neill | Pennsylvania State University | Sophomore | Midfield |
| Ally | Palermo | Northwestern University | Graduate | Defense |
| Sam | Thacker | University of Denver | Junior | Defense |
| Arielle | Weissman | University of Michigan | Graduate | Goalkeeper |
West/Midwest Region
Second Team
| Carley | Adams | Arizona State University | Graduate | Attack |
| Deanna | Balsama | San Diego State University | Senior | Attack |
| Lauren | Black | University of Denver | Freshman | Attack |
| Kaleigh | Brennan | University of Southern California | Senior | Defense |
| Maddie | Burns | University of Michigan | Sophomore | Defense |
| Kelly | Denes | University of Notre Dame | Sophomore | Draw Specialist |
| Paulina | DiFatta | University of Pittsburgh | Graduate | Goalkeeper |
| Sammy | Dupcak | Pennsylvania State University | Sophomore | Defense |
| Lindsay | Epstein | The Ohio State University | Graduate | Midfield |
| Emily | Glagolev | Arizona State University | Graduate | Attack |
| Bri | Gross | Vanderbilt University | Senior | Midfield |
| Diana | Kelly | University of Notre Dame | Graduate | Defense |
| Kaitlyn | Mead | University of Michigan | Senior | Midfield |
| Hannah | Morris | University of Louisville | Senior | Attack |
| Nicole | Perroni | University of Louisville | Junior | Midfield |