Women’s Lacrosse’s Reinertson Wins 2025 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
7/2/2025 2:00:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Taiva Reinertson of the Liberty women's lacrosse program has been named the 2025 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award winner.
Reinertson's honor is another in a long line of firsts for the women's lacrosse program in 2025. She is the first player in program history to win this honor after leading the Lady Flames to their first-ever conference title and first NCAA Tournament appearance this year.
In 1974, the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award was established to honor the top senior student-athlete at Liberty University who best exemplifies the standards and lives of both of these great Christian men.
Rock Royer was Liberty's first football coach in 1973. Mac Rivera was a member of Liberty's men's basketball team from 1972 until 1975. Both Rock Royer and Mac Rivera tragically died at a young age, with Royer dying in a plane crash and Rivera passing away after a fall.
This award encompasses more than just athletic ability. It recognizes the Liberty University graduating senior student-athlete who has maintained an exemplary testimony on the playing field, in the classroom and among the student body.
"Taiva is the definition of a Liberty student-athlete," said women's lacrosse head coach Kelly Nangle. "She was one of our best players on the field this past season and more importantly she was our spiritual leader. She exemplifies this award every single day!"
Reinertson's stellar senior campaign lifted the Lady Flames to a 12-8 record, culminating in their first-ever conference championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
The senior paced the team with a single-season program record 57 goals and 74 points along with 17 assists. Prior to this past season, Reinertson's season highs were 18 goals, five assists and 23 points from her junior year.
The Apple Valley, Minn., native was quiet to begin the season, but she caught fire in the third game of 2025 with four goals at VCU on February 15. She was critical in Liberty's upset victory at No. 20 Richmond with four goals, three assists and seven points.
She carried her hot streak into a stretch of six consecutive games with at least three goals. Reinertson recorded a point in all but one game this season, averaging a program single-season record 2.85 goals per game.
Liberty's offense finished the season ranked No. 16 in the country with 14.50 goals per game. For her efforts, Reinertson was recognized on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference first team.
In the 2025 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship, Reinertson paved the way to Liberty's first ASUN title with four goals and two assists in a 14-8 victory over defending champion Coastal Carolina in the championship game. The performance earned her a selection to the ASUN All-Tournament team.
Reinertson's season and Liberty career concluded with in the NCAA Tournament facing No. 8 seed Johns Hopkins. The attacker's three goals helped the Lady Flames pull within two scores in the fourth quarter before ultimately dropping the postseason contest.
Outside of her stellar play on the field, Reinertson was active in the community and represented the women's lacrosse program on Liberty's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Her community service efforts included taking part in the following projects: Dollar Makes A Difference (school supplies collection and fundraiser/2021-24); Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat (Halloween canned food drive/2021-24), Hop on Pop Book Collection (2021-24); Learn Like Liberty Literacy Program (2022-24), ASPIRE (special needs class, tour and clinic/2024-25), Bingo at Runk & Pratt (2024-25) and Pen Pal Program at Runk & Pratt (2024-25).
After four years at Liberty, Reinertson graduated this past spring with a 3.37 GPA with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Reinertson plans to earn an MBA in executive leadership as she continues her education at Liberty. She was a two-time member of the CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll and was the recipient of CUSA's 2025 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship.
Reinertson plans to return to the women's lacrosse team as a team shepherd. LU Shepherds exists to develop Champions for Christ by fostering a holistic community through peer mentorships, pastoral care and life-skills training.
Reinertson is the 58th overall recipient of this distinguished award, and this is the 52nd year Liberty Athletics has presented its top athletics honor to a well-deserving senior student-athlete.
Rock Royer Award
1974 – Rick Herceg – Football
1975 - Sling Patterson – Football
1976 - David Neff – Football
1977 - Scott Goetz – Football
Mac Rivera Award
1977 - Paul Dalton - Men's Basketball
Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
1978 - Gary Avila – Wrestling
1979 - Dave Anderson – Football
1980 - Karl Hess - Men's Basketball
1981 - David "D.J." Hertzler – Football
1982 - Sharon Snodgrass - Women's Basketball
1983 - Bill Gillespie - Football/Men's Track & Field
1984 - Rick Sielhamer - Wrestling
1985 - Sue Andrew - Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1985 - Dave Bream - Baseball
1986 - Ron Stamer - Men's Soccer
1987 - Pam Wilder - Women's Basketball
1988 – Annie Hunt Fairchild – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1988 – Andre Sims – Football
1989 - Kathy Guetterman - Volleyball
1990 - Lynn Attwood – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field/Women's Basketball
1991 - Craig Holiday - Wrestling
1992 - Mike Coleman - Men's Basketball
1993 - Theresa Bream - Volleyball/Women's Basketball
1994 - James Downey - Football
1994 - Matt Hildebrand - Men's Basketball
1995 - Todd Setsma - Men's Golf
1996 - Ryan Werner – Men's Track & Field
1997 - Michael Prettyman – Men's Track & Field
1998 - Ben Anderson - Football
1999 - Jarrod Everson - Football
2000 - Elena Kisseleva - Women's Basketball
2001 - Andrea Wildrick – Women's Track & Field
2001 - Nathan Day - Men's Basketball
2002 - Heather Sagan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2003 - Collin Mascagni - Men's Soccer
2004 - Tatiana Tkachuk - Volleyball
2005 - Sam Gado – Football
2005 – Danielle McNaney – Women's Track & Field
2006 - Sonia Rodriguez - Women's Soccer
2006 - Phillip Thompson - Baseball
2007 - Arlene Zelinskas – Women's Track & Field
2008 - Allyson Fasnacht - Women's Basketball
2009 - Beth Bennett - Softball
2010 - Chris Rocco - Football
2011 - Zach Duke - Football
2012 - Jesse Sanders - Men's Basketball
2013 - Jennifer Klugh – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2014 - Trey Lambert – Baseball
2015 – Alex Close – Baseball
2016 – Ashley Rininger – Women's Basketball
2017 – Holly Van Noord – Women's Soccer
2018 – Evangeline Crist – Women's Tennis
2019 – Alicia Finnigan – Women's Swimming & Diving
2020 – Hannah Baker – Women's Swimming & Diving
2021 – Kieran Vincent – Men's Golf
2022 – Jill Bolton – Field Hockey
2023 – Jonathan Yaun – Men's Golf
2024 – Calli Doan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2025 – Taiva Reinertson – Women's Lacrosse
Reinertson's honor is another in a long line of firsts for the women's lacrosse program in 2025. She is the first player in program history to win this honor after leading the Lady Flames to their first-ever conference title and first NCAA Tournament appearance this year.
In 1974, the Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award was established to honor the top senior student-athlete at Liberty University who best exemplifies the standards and lives of both of these great Christian men.
Rock Royer was Liberty's first football coach in 1973. Mac Rivera was a member of Liberty's men's basketball team from 1972 until 1975. Both Rock Royer and Mac Rivera tragically died at a young age, with Royer dying in a plane crash and Rivera passing away after a fall.
This award encompasses more than just athletic ability. It recognizes the Liberty University graduating senior student-athlete who has maintained an exemplary testimony on the playing field, in the classroom and among the student body.
"Taiva is the definition of a Liberty student-athlete," said women's lacrosse head coach Kelly Nangle. "She was one of our best players on the field this past season and more importantly she was our spiritual leader. She exemplifies this award every single day!"
Reinertson's stellar senior campaign lifted the Lady Flames to a 12-8 record, culminating in their first-ever conference championship title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
The senior paced the team with a single-season program record 57 goals and 74 points along with 17 assists. Prior to this past season, Reinertson's season highs were 18 goals, five assists and 23 points from her junior year.
The Apple Valley, Minn., native was quiet to begin the season, but she caught fire in the third game of 2025 with four goals at VCU on February 15. She was critical in Liberty's upset victory at No. 20 Richmond with four goals, three assists and seven points.
She carried her hot streak into a stretch of six consecutive games with at least three goals. Reinertson recorded a point in all but one game this season, averaging a program single-season record 2.85 goals per game.
Liberty's offense finished the season ranked No. 16 in the country with 14.50 goals per game. For her efforts, Reinertson was recognized on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference first team.
In the 2025 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship, Reinertson paved the way to Liberty's first ASUN title with four goals and two assists in a 14-8 victory over defending champion Coastal Carolina in the championship game. The performance earned her a selection to the ASUN All-Tournament team.
Reinertson's season and Liberty career concluded with in the NCAA Tournament facing No. 8 seed Johns Hopkins. The attacker's three goals helped the Lady Flames pull within two scores in the fourth quarter before ultimately dropping the postseason contest.
Outside of her stellar play on the field, Reinertson was active in the community and represented the women's lacrosse program on Liberty's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Her community service efforts included taking part in the following projects: Dollar Makes A Difference (school supplies collection and fundraiser/2021-24); Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat (Halloween canned food drive/2021-24), Hop on Pop Book Collection (2021-24); Learn Like Liberty Literacy Program (2022-24), ASPIRE (special needs class, tour and clinic/2024-25), Bingo at Runk & Pratt (2024-25) and Pen Pal Program at Runk & Pratt (2024-25).
After four years at Liberty, Reinertson graduated this past spring with a 3.37 GPA with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Reinertson plans to earn an MBA in executive leadership as she continues her education at Liberty. She was a two-time member of the CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll and was the recipient of CUSA's 2025 Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship.
Reinertson plans to return to the women's lacrosse team as a team shepherd. LU Shepherds exists to develop Champions for Christ by fostering a holistic community through peer mentorships, pastoral care and life-skills training.
Reinertson is the 58th overall recipient of this distinguished award, and this is the 52nd year Liberty Athletics has presented its top athletics honor to a well-deserving senior student-athlete.
Rock Royer Award
1974 – Rick Herceg – Football
1975 - Sling Patterson – Football
1976 - David Neff – Football
1977 - Scott Goetz – Football
Mac Rivera Award
1977 - Paul Dalton - Men's Basketball
Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award
1978 - Gary Avila – Wrestling
1979 - Dave Anderson – Football
1980 - Karl Hess - Men's Basketball
1981 - David "D.J." Hertzler – Football
1982 - Sharon Snodgrass - Women's Basketball
1983 - Bill Gillespie - Football/Men's Track & Field
1984 - Rick Sielhamer - Wrestling
1985 - Sue Andrew - Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1985 - Dave Bream - Baseball
1986 - Ron Stamer - Men's Soccer
1987 - Pam Wilder - Women's Basketball
1988 – Annie Hunt Fairchild – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
1988 – Andre Sims – Football
1989 - Kathy Guetterman - Volleyball
1990 - Lynn Attwood – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field/Women's Basketball
1991 - Craig Holiday - Wrestling
1992 - Mike Coleman - Men's Basketball
1993 - Theresa Bream - Volleyball/Women's Basketball
1994 - James Downey - Football
1994 - Matt Hildebrand - Men's Basketball
1995 - Todd Setsma - Men's Golf
1996 - Ryan Werner – Men's Track & Field
1997 - Michael Prettyman – Men's Track & Field
1998 - Ben Anderson - Football
1999 - Jarrod Everson - Football
2000 - Elena Kisseleva - Women's Basketball
2001 - Andrea Wildrick – Women's Track & Field
2001 - Nathan Day - Men's Basketball
2002 - Heather Sagan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2003 - Collin Mascagni - Men's Soccer
2004 - Tatiana Tkachuk - Volleyball
2005 - Sam Gado – Football
2005 – Danielle McNaney – Women's Track & Field
2006 - Sonia Rodriguez - Women's Soccer
2006 - Phillip Thompson - Baseball
2007 - Arlene Zelinskas – Women's Track & Field
2008 - Allyson Fasnacht - Women's Basketball
2009 - Beth Bennett - Softball
2010 - Chris Rocco - Football
2011 - Zach Duke - Football
2012 - Jesse Sanders - Men's Basketball
2013 - Jennifer Klugh – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2014 - Trey Lambert – Baseball
2015 – Alex Close – Baseball
2016 – Ashley Rininger – Women's Basketball
2017 – Holly Van Noord – Women's Soccer
2018 – Evangeline Crist – Women's Tennis
2019 – Alicia Finnigan – Women's Swimming & Diving
2020 – Hannah Baker – Women's Swimming & Diving
2021 – Kieran Vincent – Men's Golf
2022 – Jill Bolton – Field Hockey
2023 – Jonathan Yaun – Men's Golf
2024 – Calli Doan – Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
2025 – Taiva Reinertson – Women's Lacrosse
Players Mentioned
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