Sept. 4, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – Two Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players – current senior defender Rachel Guerrera (Wantagh, N.Y.) and graduated senior defender Beth Koloup (Phoenix, Md.) have been selected to the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) academic honor roll for the 2009 campaign. The two Irish players were among a group of 154 Division I women’s lacrosse juniors and seniors with 3.5 grade-point averages or better or ranked in the top 10 percent of their team to be honored by the coaches’ association. Across all three Divisions, the IWLCA honored 407 student-athletes from 152 institutions were honored for their academic achievements.
The Irish also were among 49 Division I institutions to earn Academic Squad honors with three programs named Merit Squads. Teams that have a collective GPA of 3.0 or greater earn the distinction of Academic Squad while the three highest-ranking teams – Wagner, Stanford and Hofstra – were named a Merit Squad. As a team, the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team had a 3.20 grade-point average.
Guerrera was selected to the IWLCA academic honor roll for the first time in her career after turning in a 3.49 grade-point average with a double major in American Studies and Film, Television and Theatre in the College of Arts and Letters. A two-year starter on defense for the Irish, Guerrera was fifth on the team with 33 ground balls and third with 22 caused turnovers. A tough, tenacious defender, the two-time monogram winner was a second team IWLCA West/Midwest all-region selection following the 2009 season. For her career, she has played in 41 games, making 35 starts with 58 ground balls, 14 draw controls and 37 caused turnovers. She will be one of the leaders of the Notre Dame defense in her senior year.
Koloup was selected to the IWLCA academic honor roll in her senior season with a 3.306 grade point while graduating with degrees in Spanish and Political Science from Notre Dame last May 17. A three-time monogram winner, the Maryland native was a two-year starter on the Irish defense. She also was honored by the University as the winner of the women’s lacrosse team’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete award following the season. During her final year, Koloup had career highs in ground balls (31) and caused turnovers (13) while scoring three goals with one assist in 21 games from her defensive spot. During her career, Koloup played in 49 games, making 39 starts. She scored four goals with two assists while grabbing 58 ground balls, 46 draw controls and causing 25 turnovers.
Notre Dame finished the 2009 campaign with a 16-5 overall record and captured the program’s first-ever BIG EAST Championship last April. The Irish also made their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals where they fell to North Carolina.