Contact: Rachel Balinao, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, rabalinao@noctrl.edu 

July 20, 2026 - For the third consecutive year, the North Central College women's lacrosse program received both team and individual recognition from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), earning Academic Honor Squad distinction while placing four student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll. 

North Central is one of 383 schools across NCAA Division I, II, III, as well as NAIA, to be recognized as an IWLCA Academic Honor Squad for maintaining a team grade-point average of 3.2 or higher for the 2025-2026 academic year. The Cardinals were one of four College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) programs to earn the distinction, joining Augustana College, Carroll University and Illinois Wesleyan University.

To be eligible for individual Academic honor roll, student-athletes must be a junior, senior, or graduate student and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or greater.  

In their first year of eligibility, juniors Samantha Alis, Rachel Lawrence, Caitlyn Mitchell and Ava Schramm were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll. 

An anthropology major, Alis started all 13 games for North Central, totaling 11 goals and eight assists. She led the team with 46 ground balls, 34 caused turnovers and 32 draw controls. Alis also earned First Team All-CCIW, Academic All-CCIW and College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors. 

After returning from injury, Lawrence started all five games she appeared in for the Cardinals, recording 12 goals and one assist while adding five ground balls. A health science major, Lawrence also earned Academic All-CCIW honors.

Mitchell, an exercise science major, appeared in three games as a defender. She was recognized for her academic success by earning Academic All-CCIW honors in the spring.  

A business economics major, Schramm appeared in 10 games with one start for the Cardinals. The midfielder recorded two ground balls and one caused turnover while also earning Academic All-CCIW recognition.