Belles Lacrosse Student-Athletes, Team Earn Academic Honors

GRAND LAKE, Colo. - Three members of the Saint Mary's lacrosse team as well as the entire Belles lacrosse program garnered academic honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) for the 2017-18 academic year.

Junior Kate Kelly and seniors Hanna Makowski and Clare Theisen were among the 639 Division III student-athletes from 189 different colleges and universities to earn 2018 IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Roll accolades. To be eligible for the academic distinction, a student-athlete must be a junior, senior, or graduate student and have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or above. It is the first such honor for Kelly while Makowski and Theisen each earned the distinction in 2017.

As a team, the Belles joined 339 NCAA Division I, II, and III and NAIA programs as 2017-18 IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Squads for the past academic year. In Division III alone, 165 teams were named as honor squads, and Saint Mary's was one of six MIAA programs to pick up the team academic distinction. Albion, Alma, Calvin, Hope, and Kalamazoo were also named as IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Squads for 2017-18. It is the fifth consecutive year the Saint Mary's lacrosse team has garnered the team academic accolade.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the IWLCA with the Academic Honor Squad award for the fifth straight year," said head coach Amy Long. "I am very proud of our team’s excellence both in the classroom and on the field. Our year-long team GPA of 3.57 is the highest in our program history and is a great testament to our team’s commitment to achieving our academic goals. I am honored to work with such an exceptional group of women who live the mission of Division III by excelling both academically and athletically."

For the full listings of both the IWLCA Zag Sports Academic Honor Roll and Academic Honor Squads, visit www.iwlca.org.