FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood women's lacrosse matched the program's Division I record signing 11 newcomers for the 2018-19 season, as announced Thursday by sixth-year head coach Elaine Jones.

The 11 newcomers matches the record set by Jones just two seasons ago when the current sophomore class signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI's).

The latest record-setting class includes a group of athletes hailing from six states – Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia – as well as the first international signing – New Zealand – since recent graduate Charlie Kondas joined the squad in 2015 from Canada.

Jones' latest class includes Rachel Abraham (Oakville, Conn.), Jackie Bewick (Alexandria, Va.), Danielle Burke (Concord, N.C.), Nicole Fordyce (Auckland, New Zealand), Averee Gerold (Wilmington, N.C.), Keelyn Haarhoff (Stevensville, Md.), Katelyn Housler (Cumming, Ga.), Mischa Kolibas (Millersville, Pa.), Haley Moomau (Lusky, Md.), Jade O'Connor (Kingsville, Md.) and Mary Olivia Skinner (Annapolis, Md.).

The duo of Burke and Gerold become the first Lancers from the Tar Heel State of North Carolina and Housler is the first from the Peach State of Georgia since the Lancers became a Division I member in 2007-08.

"I'm very excited to welcome such an accomplished and well-rounded group of student-athletes for our incoming 2018 class. We achieved an exceptional balance bringing in talented and dynamic players in every position on the field to add depth to our team," said Jones, who made it two classes in three seasons with double-digit recruits.
 
"Almost every player in the incoming class has played a variety of other sports so they bring a high level of athletic versatility, mental toughness, and competitiveness that will blend in nicely with our returners. Along with a commitment to academic success and citizen service, these student-athletes already have a love for Longwood and look forward with pride to joining the program."
 
The 11 newcomers join a Longwood squad that has finished in the top six of the Big South in each season as a member while making two semifinal appearances in that six-year stretch.

Rachel Abraham | Attack
Oakville, Conn. | Cheshire Academy

Rachel Abraham comes to Longwood after lettering in soccer, basketball, field hockey and lacrosse at the Cheshire Academy in Oakville, Conn. In her time as a lacrosse player, Abraham was named a Western New England Prep School All-Star three times and was the 2017 and 2018 Offensive MVP. Abraham was a member of Team Connecticut, which participated in the U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament, UA All-American Uncommitted team and was a Connecticut Super Junior.

Abraham began her career as a defender scoring 18 goals across her first two seasons before moving to attack and scoring 41 goals and adding 11 assists last season as a junior and 54 goals with 24 assists as a senior. With her commitment to Longwood, she becomes the first female lacrosse player at Cheshire to graduate and play at the Division I level.

Jackie Bewick | Midfield
Alexandria, Va. | Bishop Ireton & West Potomac HS

Jackie Bewick comes to Longwood after a four-year high school lacrosse career as she played for a U.S. High School Girls' nationally-ranked lacrosse team in 2015 and 2016 with Bishop Ireton. During those two seasons, Bewick led a team that won the 2015 VISAA State championship and was a 2016 state finalist.

Bewick helped guide her Bishop Ireton team to a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship while being selected to the 2016 and 2017 U.S. Lacrosse National Schoolgirls Tournament. Bewick also participated in the LAX WORLD CUP Festival Tournament in 2015 and 2017 and was also a member of the U18 Patriots National Team participating in the LAXCLASH Tournament.

Bewick was named a 2017 All-Conference first team performer with West Potomac and will serve as a team captain in her upcoming senior season. As a junior, she led the team in ground balls and draw controls with an impressive .800 success rate. She also got it done in the classroom as she was a NASA Scholar in 2016 and was a member of the Spanish Honor Society.

Danielle Burke | Goalkeeper
Concord, N.C. | Central Cabarrus HS

Danielle Burke begins her time as a Lancer after a career at the club level. Burke was also a goalkeeper for the Carolina Flight travel team all four years of high school, traveling the country and competing against some of the best lacrosse competition in the U.S.

Burke also got it done in the classroom as she was a member of the A/B Honor Roll at Central Cabarrus High School graduating as a STEM Graduate, cum laude.

Nicole Fordyce | Attack
Auckland, New Zealand | Epsom Girl's Grammar School

Nicole Fordyce becomes a Lancer after a two-sport career at the Epsom Girl's Grammar School in New Zealand where she lettered in lacrosse as she won the 2017 Jess Evans Award for MVP of the U18 Nationals tournament with the Auckland U18 team. Fordyce was also named an MVP of the New Zealand Secondary Schools tournament, co-captain for the school premiere team and U18 team and was nominated for the Auckland Sports Person of the Year in lacrosse in back-to-back seasons.

Fordyce was also part of a championship team in the Auckland League, Auckland Regionals Tournament and New Zealand Secondary Schools while winning National Championships for the Epsom Girls Grammar School, Auckland U18 team and Auckland Senior Women's squad.  She was also a member of the eighth-place New Zealand women's national team at the 2017 FIL Rathbones Women's Lacrosse World Cup with former Lancer all-time great Sarah Butler.

In the 2017 World Cup, Fordyce scored four goals and dished out three assists across seven games.

Averee Gerold | Midfield/Attack
Wilmington, N.C. | Ashley HS

A four-year letterwinner in women's lacrosse at Ashley High School, Averee Gerold comes to Farmville after being named a Scholar-Athlete and Team MVP all four seasons as well as earning MEC Player of the Year as a sophomore and senior. Gerold was a two-time team captain as well as first team All-Area and All-Conference all four years.

A prolific goal-scorer, Gerold led the MEC all four years at the varsity level and was rewarded with the Coastal Preps Player of the Year, All-American honor and Ashley High School Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. In her varsity career, Gerold scored a conference-best 242 goals while adding 50 assists and winning 464 draws. Gerold was a true student-athlete graduating as a Scholar-Athlete having taken AP and honors courses and graduating with a 4.3 GPA.

Gerold comes from an athletic family as her father Scott played football at LSU, aunt Julie Finnegan was a gymnast at Radford, her cousin Evelyn played volleyball at Christopher Newport and cousin Chris played football at VMI.

Keelyn Haarhoff | Defender
Stevensville, Md. | Kent Island HS

A four-year letterwinner at Kent Island High School in both field hockey and lacrosse, Keelyn Haarhoff joins the Lancers after being named All-Conference Bayside North in field hockey and the U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament Team. During her time at Kent Island, Haarhoff earned the 'Minds in Motion' award each season and was part of a Regional Championship field hockey program throughout her four seasons.

As a senior, Haarhoff won the Bayside District, Regional championship and made it to the state semifinals. Haarhoff was also an Indoor Lacrosse League team captain in 2018 and a Scholar-Athlete for Maryland School of Athletics. She becomes the second Haarhoff in her family to play Big South lacrosse as her older sister Kylie is a goalkeeper for Campbell.

Haarhoff was also a strong student as she has been named to the Honor Roll every semester of her high school career as well as being inducted into the National Honor Society.

Katelyn Housler | Defender
Cumming, Ga. | South Forsyth HS

A defender who lettered all four seasons on the lacrosse team, Katelyn Housler comes to Longwood as the first recruit from the Peach State of Georgia since joining Division I. A three-time captain, Housler was named the 2016 Defensive MVP of her high school team, a 2018 Scholar-Athlete, U.S. Lacrosse All-Academic member and U.S. Lacrosse Jackie Pitts Award recipient.

Housler also played for Team Georgia at the 2017 Brine National Lacrosse Classic as well as being selected to the All-Star Team for the tournament and was a member of the 2018 Cascade National Prospect Elite 80 Team.

Housler also hit the books hard as she has been an All-A's Honor Roll student throughout her high school career and was an AP Scholar in 2016 and AP Scholar with Distinction in 2017 as a junior.

Mischa Kolibas | Midfield
Millersville, Pa. | Penn Manor HS

Mischa Kolibas joins Longwood as a four-year letterwinner in lacrosse while also playing soccer for two seasons at Penn Manor High School while winning the Senior Athletic Award and being named a Brine All-American. Kolibas showed her versatility throughout high school playing attack, midfield and defense as a four-year starter while also winning several tournament championships at the club level with the Xtreme 2018 squad.

Kolibas was also an Honor Roll student during her high school career. Kolibas also spent a lot of time giving back to the community through volunteer work including helping rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina, serving meals to homeless folks in the city of Lancaster, Pa., and delivering baskets to the retirement home-bound elderly over the holiday seasons.

Haley Moomau | Midfield
Lusby, Md. | Calvert HS

Haley Moomau comes to Longwood after a four-year career in basketball and lacrosse at Calvert High School where she was named Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time captain of the basketball team and earned Rookie of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, as well as serving as a team captain on the lacrosse team. During her time on the lacrosse roster, Moomau was a two-time All-SMAC performer and scored 91 goals, won 174 draws – over 60% of her attempts – and collected 70 ground balls while earning the Cavalier Award and MVP.

In the classroom, Moomau was a four-time Honor Roll student, a member of the National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honorarium, National Technical Honor Society, a two-time recipient of the Superintendent Award, Outstanding Achievement in Human Body Systems and Outstanding Achievements in AP Biology and graduate with distinction.

Jade O'Connor | Midfield
Kingsville, Md. | Perry Hall

Jade O'Connor joins the Longwood lacrosse program as a four-year starter at Perry Hall High School while also lettering in basketball and field hockey. O'Connor was a team captain for both the field hockey and lacrosse teams as she was invited to play in the County All-Star Game for field hockey her senior season. As a junior, O'Connor led the lacrosse team in overall points and was one of the top scorers on the squad.

O'Connor was an all-around student-athlete as she made the Academic Honor Roll and was an All-Academic performer in all three sports of basketball, field hockey and lacrosse.

Mary Olivia Skinner | Defender
Annapolis, Md. | South River

Mary Olivia Skinner comes to Longwood after a three-year varsity lacrosse career at South River High School where she served as the team captain her senior season. Skinner was a three-year starter on a defense for South River that culminated in county, region and state championships during her final campaign.

Skinner also excelled in the classroom as a member of the STEM program to go along with her on-field achievements throughout her varsity career.

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