ELON, N.C. – After graduating its first full four-year class at the conclusion of the 2017 season, Elon University women's lacrosse welcomes eight student-athletes to the program ahead of the team's fifth season of competition in 2018.
 
"This is a very special and talented first-year class that has already made a positive impact on our team culture," said Elon head coach Josh Hexter. "We have truly enjoyed our journey together throughout the fall season and we are excited to see how we continue to grow throughout the winter and spring seasons as well. The level of competition has certainly been raised in practice and we are looking forward to playing a fun schedule again this spring."
 
Elon's recruiting class is comprised of four players from New Jersey in Meri Curtin (Chester, N.J.), Quinn Daly (Ridgewood, N.J.), Taylor Pani (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and Claire Smesko (Ridgewood, N.J.), three from New York in Allie Cerrone (Clifton Parks, N.Y.), Ashley Duggan (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and Mae McGlynn (Skaneateles, N.Y.) and one from North Carolina in Lundy Fine (Chapel Hill, N.C.).
 
Cerrone, a 5-3 goalie, joins Elon from Shenendehowa High School, where she earned First Team Times Union All Star, First Team Section Two All Star and First Team Suburban Council honors as a senior in 2017. Off the field, she was a member of National Honor Society, FBLA and DECA. The daughter of Laurie and Ray Cerrone, Allie intends to major in Political Science.
 
Curtin, a 5-3 attacker, comes to Elon from Mendham High School, the same high school junior midfielder Shannon Horan attended. As a team captain her senior year, Curtin earned First Team All-Group 3, First Team All-Stars and Stripes Conference and first team all-county honors while earning the team's Offensive Player of the Year award. Curtin also played basketball at Mendham, earning Second Team All-Conference honors while serving as a team captain in her senior season. The daughter of Julie and John Curtin, her sister, Meghan, played lacrosse at Assumption College.
 
Daly, a 5-4 midfielder, ended her career at Ridgewood High School as a three-time First Team All-Bergen County honoree and a three-time First Team All-North Jersey honoree as a sophomore, junior and senior. Daly earned First Team All-Suburban honors from Ridgewood News after her sophomore and junior campaigns. She also played basketball at Ridgewood, earning Third Team All-Stars and Stripes Conference as a senior. Daly was joined on the Ridgewood lacrosse team by fellow Elon recruit Claire Smesko. The daughter of Ann and Tim Daly, she is the third member of the family to play college lacrosse after her sister, Sarah, played at Holy Cross and sister, Caitlin, played at Wagner.
 
Duggan, a 5-4 defender from Oyster Bay, earned All-Nassau County honors three times as a sophomore, junior and senior and served as a team captain in her final season with the team in 2017. Duggan also played soccer, earning all-conference honors as a junior while serving as a team captain in her junior and senior campaigns. The daughter of Juliann and John Duggan, Ashley was president of the Student Council, a National Honor Society member, secretary of the Foreign Language Honor Society and a member of the Science Honor Society off the field in high school.
 
Fine, a 5-6 defender and Elon's lone recruit from the state of North Carolina, comes to the Phoenix from Chapel Hill High School. A two-sport athlete in lacrosse and field hockey, Fine was a two-year captain for both teams. In lacrosse, she earned All-Big Eight 3A Athletic Conference honors three times and was named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American as a senior. She was also named the team's Defensive Player of the Year at the end of her junior year. In field hockey, she was the Team MVP and a first team all-conference honoree as a senior. Fine was also a North Carolina Field Hockey Association First Team All-State honoree in her final year while being named the Eastern Defensive Player of the Year by the organization while leading Chapel Hill to the state championship game. Off the field, Fine was a member of National Honor Society and Student Government. She was also the president of Tiger Roar, which promotes school spirit, and the recipient of the Chapel Hill High School Athletic Booster Club scholarship and the Atlas Fraley Leadership Scholarship. The daughter of Nancy and Morris Fine, Lundy comes from a line of fellow family athletes. Her grandfather was a four-sport athlete at Slippery Rock from 1956-60 and her uncle ran track at Ohio from 1987-91.
 
McGlynn, a 5-7 midfielder, joins the program from Skaneateles, where she was a four-year member of the Skaneateles lacrosse and soccer teams. In lacrosse, McGlynn helped the Lakers to two Class C State Championships. She was named a first team all-league honoree twice as a junior and senior after being named an honorable mention in her first two seasons, and she was also named an All-Central New York honoree after her senior campaign. The daughter of Lisa and Steve McGlynn, she was a member of National Honor Society off the field in high school and plans to major in Marketing at Elon.
 
Pani, a 5-6 midfielder, had a stellar career at Ramapo High School in New Jersey. She finished her career taking first team all-league and second team all-county honors in her junior and senior seasons after being named all-league honorable mention as a sophomore. A three-sport athlete at Ramapo, Pani was a first team all-county honoree and an all-league honorable mention in track while also playing soccer. The daughter of Jodie and Paul Pani, Taylor was a member of National Honor Society and the World Language Honor Society while also earning multiple Honor Roll awards. At Ramapo, Pani played soccer with current Elon women's soccer midfielder Olivia Kraebel.
 
Smesko joins the Phoenix after playing four years of lacrosse at Ridgewood with Daly. A 5-11 defender, Smesko was named first team all-county, Second Team All-North Jersey and Second Team All-Stars and Stripes Conference after her senior season. Also a basketball player at Ridgewood, she helped the team to a state semifinal appearance and was a First Team Big North Freedom Division honoree and an all-county honorable mention. The daughter of Trish and Ray Smesko, she is the third member of her family to play college lacrosse after her sister Kelci Smesko played lacrosse at Duke and Kate Smesko at Michigan.