Gettysburg's Ditillo Named Elite 88 Winner
from press release
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – There may not have been a better
ending to the first day of festivities of the 2010 NCAA Division II
and III Women's Lacrosse Championships at Gettysburg College as the
Bullets' very own Nicole Ditillo (Baldwin, Md./Fallston) was
honored as the first recipient of the NCAA's Elite 88 academic
award at the conclusion of the Championships Banquet held in the
College Union Building Ballroom Friday evening.
The ELITE 88, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true
essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has
reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship
level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest
academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 88 is presented
to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point
average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 88
championships.
Ditillo held the top GPA among the 115 Division III women's
lacrosse players competing in this year's championship event. An
English and psychology double-major, she finished her tenure at
Gettysburg with an adjusted GPA of 3.969.
After receiving the award from NCAA Championships Manager Sherard
Clinkscales, Ditillo humbly took the podium and thanked both her
teammates and coaches, particularly citing the good-nature ribbing
from her lacrosse peers for being one of the College's top
students.
C.W. Post's Kaurey Foley was named the first Elite 88 recipient out
of the gathered Division II teams.
Earlier this week, Ditillo was tabbed ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-District First Team for the second time by CoSIDA. She was
tabbed the lacrosse program's first Academic All-American last
spring, earning a spot on the second team, and she will vie for
that same honor in the coming weeks.
Ditillo is a starting defender on Gettysburg's women's lacrosse
team and was named All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention this
spring. A team co-captain, she has led the Bullets' defense to a
No. 3 ranking in Division III in scoring defense with a goals
against average of 6.51. Ditillo is the only Bullet to appear in
all 21 games this season and has posted career highs for ground
balls (37) and caused turnovers (18), in addition to 36 draw
controls.
In addition to her awards as a student-athlete, Ditillo was
recently named the first recipient of the Janet Morgan Riggs '77
Endowed Scholarship, which recognizes a worthy and promising
student who majors in psychology.
Ditillo's future plans include travelling to England in the fall to
teach lacrosse to grade school students through the English
Lacrosse Association. After completing her time in England, she
intends to head back to school to pursue a master's degree and
teach certification to become a high school English teacher.
But first, Ditillo will look to lead the Bullets to their first
national title this weekend as the team hosts the semifinals and
championship at Clark Field. Gettysburg (18-3) takes on Salisbury
University (19-1) Saturday, May 22, at 2 p..m. with the national
finale set for Sunday at 3.
