McLean County Times

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's lacrosse team received four academic honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), as announced by the organization on Wednesday, July 24. Juniors Mia Fiandaca (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North), Grace Spader (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community), and Avery Setzler (Bloomington, Ill.-Bloomington) were named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll for the first time in their careers, while the team earned Academic Squad honors.

The IWLCA Honor Roll recognizes junior, senior, and graduate student-athletes who have earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher. In total, the IWLCA honored 1,125 student-athletes from 201 institutions at the Division III level.

To qualify for the Academic Squad Award, a team must have posted a GPA of 3.20 or better for the academic year. Illinois Wesleyan was one of 325 teams across Division I, II, III and NAIA to receive this award.

Fiandaca, a nursing major with a 3.51 GPA, led the Titans in goals for the 2024 season with 48. Her 51 points and 41 caused turnovers each ranked second on the squad. In her junior campaign, Fiandaca was twice named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Week on March 5 and March 19. She finished the season with 45 draw controls, ranking third on the squad, and her 35 ground balls were fourth-most on the team.

Setzler, an environmental studies major with a 3.83 GPA, played a strong role on both ends for the Titans. The Bloomington native finished second on the team with 15 assists and totaled 40 points on the season, placing fourth in scoring for Illinois Wesleyan. Setzler added 41 ground balls—the third-most on the team—34 draw controls and 24 caused turnovers.

Spader, also a nursing major with a GPA of 3.72, recorded 15 ground balls, ten caused turnovers and two draw controls as a defender for Illinois Wesleyan. She appeared in fourteen games and started nine.

As a team, Illinois Wesleyan achieved a GPA of 3.39 for the academic year of 2023-24. The university was one of four CCIW institutions to garner this honor alongside Carroll University, North Central College and University of Chicago. Fiandaca, Setzler and Spader joined twenty-five other players in their conference to be named to the Academic Honor Roll; Augustana College also had players receive this accolade while Chicago led with nine honorees.