Guilford Lacrosse Students Land Academic Honors

Greensboro, N.C. (9/22/09) -- Two members of Guilford College's 2009 women's lacrosse team recently received academic recognition for their performance on the field and in the classroom. Jennifer Abelin '09 and senior Ellie Merritt earned spots on the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association's (IWLCA) 2009 Academic Honor Roll. The IWLCA recognized 407 students representing 152 institutions on the 2008-09 honor roll. Honorees had a GPA of at least 3.5 or were in the top 10 percent of their squad.


Jennifer Abelin '09	Ellie Merritt

Abelin, a three-time All-ODAC honoree and 2009 Second Team All-Chesapeake Region recipient, led Guilford with 53 ground balls last spring and her 4.08 pickups per game led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). She set Guilford's caused turnovers record in 2009 with a league-best total of 31. Abelin ended her career as Guilford's career caused turnovers leader (90). She ranked second on the Quakers' all-time ground balls list (217) and 11th in school history with 20 assists. Abelin graduated with degrees in both chemistry and biology and is now in graduate school at the University of Virginia.

Merritt, the current president of Guilford's chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), is a dean's list math and economics double major. The attacker is a three-year letter winner and had her best season in 2009 when she ranked fourth on the team with a career-high 37 points (30 goals, seven assists). Merritt also led the team in shots and shooting percentage.

Guilford's women's lacrosse team is in the midst of its nontraditional fall season. Sixth-year head coach Matthew Grosso returns 14 letter winners from last year's 6-11 team.