Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (5/28/2025) – Early league road wins over Centenary University (N.J.) (W, 15-4 on Apr. 5) and Immaculata University (W, 17-8 on Apr. 9) were enough to earn Gwynedd Mercy University the #4 seed for the 2025 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. Unfortunately, the Griffins season came to a close in the AEC Semifinals with a 25-7 loss to top-seeded – and eventual league champion – Marymount University. The Red and Gold finished the campaign – their second under Head Coach Meghan Sacks - with a 4-14 overall record and a 2-3 league standing. Four Griffins were recognized on the 2025 All-AEC Women's Lacrosse release as an AEC Rookie of the Year title for freshman midfielder Elena Colliluori (Gilbertsville, Pa.) was complemented by All-AEC Second Team honors for senior midfielder Cheyenne Avellino (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.), sophomore midfielder Rebecca Gordon (Sicklerville, N.J.), and sophomore defender Teagan O'Neill (Pennsauken, N.J.).
 
Colliluori made an immediate impact to the Gwynedd Mercy University midfield with 33 points (28 goals, 5 assists), 50 shots, nine caused turnovers, 19 ground balls, and 74 draw controls that ranked her seventh among her conference rivals.
 
Her fellow midfielders, Avellino and Gordon benefitted most from her play as both enjoyed career years. The Red and Gold's senior captain showcased her great two-way play with AEC Top-10 statistics in shots (9^th, 92), goals (10^th, 40), draw controls (9^th, 62), and caused turnovers (8^th, 28). She finished her swan song with a career-high 40 goals and seven assists for a career-high 47 points. During the course of the season, Avellino reached the century mark in points (102), draw controls (152), ground balls (127), and caused turnovers (100); a feat that established her as one of two Griffins to record at least 100 points (vs. Marywood on Apr. 16), 100 draw controls (@ Wilkes University on Feb. 26), 100 ground balls (vs. Bryn Athyn on Mar. 12), and 100 caused turnovers (@ Marymount University on Apr. 23) in her collegiate career. Meanwhile, Gordon led the Griffins in points (52) and shots (96). Her numbers in shots and assists ranked her eighth (8^th, 96) and tied her for 10^th (18) in the AEC, respectively. She additionally recorded 27 draw controls, 11 ground balls, and seven caused turnovers.

O'Neill also enjoyed strong sophomore campaign with 23 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers, and a draw control. She captained backfield unit in front of sophomore goalkeepers Nikki Williams (Cinnaminson, N.J.) and Victoria Sloan (Philadelphia, Pa.). They both made nine starts in 15 games played (15gp-9gs); The former (488:43 minutes) totaled 74 saves with a 17.07 goals-against average and a .347 save percentage (SV%), while the latter (522:35) and totaled 85 saves with a 17.80 GAA and a .354 SV%.
 
The Red and Gold additional received 30-plus points season from senior attack Alysia Collins (Royersford, Pa.) (32 points; 24 goals, 8 assists), sophomore attack Gianna Papa (Stratford, N.J.) (32; 11, 21), and senior attack Hailey Bloom (Margate City, N.J.) (29; 9, 20). Papa and Bloom respectively tied for fifth (T5^th, 22) and ranked seventh (7^th, 21) in the AEC for assists.
 
The 2025 season got underway with a February-13 loss at Elizabethtown College (L, 4-20) and endured additional losses to Arcadia University (L, 6-9 on Feb. 19) and Delaware Valley University (L, 9-19 on Feb. 21) before celebrating a 17-6 triumph at Wilkes University (Feb. 26). Gordon and Colliluori were recognized with AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (Feb. 24) mentions for their play versus the Knights and Aggies, while Avellino and Papa were received the same credit (Mar. 3) for their performances in the victory over the Colonels. The former was the backbone of the win with three goals on six shots, four ground balls, four caused turnovers, and five draw controls. Meanwhile, the latter had a career-high five points (3 goals, 2 assists), four shots, a ground ball, and a caused turnover.
 
Unfortunately, Gwynedd Mercy University suffered losses to DeSales University (L 1-24 on Mar. 8), King's College (Pa.) (L, 10-22 on Mar. 10), Bryn Athyn College (L, 15-20 on Mar. 12), and Lebanon Valley College (L, 3-25 on Mar. 15), before enjoying a 15-12 victory over Eastern University on March 19. Bloom recorded her 100^th college point with an assist on an Avellino first-quarter goal (3-1, (12:03, 1QTR); the latter recovered her 100^th ground ball in the loss, but returned to the AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 18) with strong performances against the Monarchs (1 goal, 2 assists, 4 shots, 6 draw controls, 1 ground ball, 1 caused turnover) and the Flying Dutchmen (1 goal, 1 shot, 1 draw control).
 
In the win over the Eagles, an opening myriad of fouls and turnovers was settled with Colliluori's playmaking as the Red and Gold midfielder possessed three draw controls (15:00, 7:02, 2:06) and scored three times (7:02, 3:53, 3:13) in the first quarter. Holding a 5-3 advantage at the end of the first quarter, Gwynedd Mercy University kept their distance in an eventual 15-12 final. Colliluori (4 goals, 1 assist) and Avellino (5 goals) finished the affair with five points apiece; the former also drew an AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 25) alongside Williams (1 Win, 15 saves, 5 ground balls vs. Eastern University and Alvernia University) as she additional provided a caused turnover, five ground balls, and 10 draw controls to the win over Eastern University.
 
Gwynedd Mercy University followed the win and closed out March with consecutive losses to Alvernia University (L, 2-18 on Mar. 22), the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) (L, 2-18 on Mar. 26), and Albright College (L, 12-18 on Mar. 29). Avellino and Gordon were selected to the AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (Mar. 31) for their efforts. Gordon totaled seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) and seven shots against the Lions, while Avellino was the Griffins' toughest competitor in the latter two contests with four points (3 goals, 1 assist), nine shots, two ground balls, three caused turnovers, and a dozen (12) draw controls in the aggregate.
 
Thankfully, April saw the Griffins open their AEC schedule with road wins over the Cyclones and Mighty Macs. A five-goal head start was plenty for Gwynedd Mercy University to comfortably retire Centenary University. Avellino and Williams garnered AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll mentions from the first win, which also included Collins' 100^th career point (GOAL: 15-4, 4:00, 4QTR). Gordon joined Avellino on the conference report for the second victory and a subsequent loss to league rival, Neumann University (L, 8-19 on Apr. 12). The Red and Gold captain scored seven goals on 15 shots against the Cyclones, while recording a caused turnover, three ground balls, and six draw controls. Meanwhile, the goalkeeper earned her second win (2-4) of the season with four saves in the first three quarters (45:00). Later, Avellino recorded four goals, two assists, 14 shots, 14 ground balls, six caused turnovers, and eight draws between the AEC contests with the Mighty Macs and Knights. Gordon totaled 10 goals, one assist, 18 shots, five ground balls, two caused turnovers, and five draws in the same games.
 
The 2025 regular season came to an end with an April-16 loss to Marywood University (L, 9-20). Avellino was the star of the contest and was recognized with her sixth AEC Women's Lacrosse Weekly Honor Roll (Apr. 21) appearance of the season; she recorded two goals, an assist, five shots, a ground ball, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls against the Pacers. Her third point – and second goal of the game (19-9, 7:42, 4QTR) – was the 100^th point of her collegiate career. She later recorded the 100^th caused turnover of her collegiate career in the postseason loss to the same Saints.