Feb. 21, 2008
LOWELL, MA - Seniors Celia Merullo (Wakefield, MA) and Anthony Santos (Chelmsford, MA) are among six UMass Lowell student-athletes who will be inducted into the University's chapter of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society Sunday.
Joining them will be juniors Sarah Brassard (Oxford, MA), Kendra Ciccone (Quincy, MA), Heather Woodward (Ashburnham, MA) and Lindsay Gundy (Concord, NH).
The induction ceremony, which honors student-athletes for excellence in academics and leadership, will take place Sunday (2:30-4:30) at Cumnock Hall on UML's North Campus.
One of the most academically decorated athletes at UML, Merullo has been a three-year starting defensive midfielder on the women's soccer team and has earned a plethora of honors. She has twice been named to the Northeast-10 Conference All-Academic First Team (2005, 2007) and the 2007 ESPN The Magazine District I (Northeast) Academic Team.
Merullo, who missed the 2006 season with a knee injury, came back in 2007 to start 12 of 16 matches and lead the River Hawks to an 11-9 clip and their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. An accounting major, Merullo carries a 3.910 cumulative average.
Santos, who played his first season with the UML baseball team after transferring from the University of Massachusetts, enjoyed a stellar year which saw him start all 53 games, batting .270 with 37 RBI. He helped guide the River Hawks to a 33-20 record (25-5 in the NE-10), which included their third straight and 10th appearance in 11 years in the NCAA Tournament.
Majoring in business management, Santos has maintained a 3.272 grade point average.
A member of the women's cross country team, Brassard helped the River Hawks to their fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Championship, where they placed 21st overall and tops among Northeast Region schools. Along the way, Brassard helped UML place second at both the NCAA Northeast Region and NE-10 championships.
An exercise physiology major with a 3.782 cumulative average, Brassard highlighted the year with her inclusion on the NE-10 All-Academic First Team, her second appearance on the team in as many years.
The induction is the second of such for Ciccone, a member of the UML volleyball team. In the spring of 2006, she earned entry into UML's chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta, an academic fraternity.
Ciccone, who spent time as an outside hitter and defensive specialist, posted averages of 2.38 digs and 0.89 kills per game this season. An American Studies major, Ciccone has maintained a 3.397 average.
A midfielder on the field hockey team, Woodward saw action in 15 matches as UML captured the NE-10 regular season championship for the third time in five years and raised the NE-10 Tournament trophy for the fifth straight year. Additionally, UML hosted the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated Bentley (2-1, OT) in the semifinal but fell to 13-time champion Bloomsburg in the final.
Woodward scored three goals this season, none bigger that the penalty stroke to give UML a 2-1 victory over Saint Michael's in the NE-10 Tournament semifinal. A business management major, she has carried a 3.001 average.
Gundy, who is sitting out the 2007-08 women's basketball season due to chronic knee problems, has served as an assistant coach. She has maintained a 3.664 despite the rigors of dual majoring in both criminal justice and psychology.
