Women’s lacrosse: Comets play at Calvin in MIAA Tournament semifinals

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College women's lacrosse team travels to play Calvin College in the semifinals of the 2015 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Wednesday, April 29.

MIAA TOURNAMENT: The Comets are the No. 4 seed, while the Knights are the No. 1 seed. The other semifinal game features #2 seed Albion College hosting No. 3 seed Hope College. The winners will face off in the championship game Saturday, May 2, at the highest seed remaining and at a time to be determined.

REGULAR SEASON MATCH-UP: Calvin defeated Olivet, 18-7, April 1, at the Zuidema Field. Senior Geri Merrell, of Battle Creek, had five points (three goals and two assists) to lead the Comets, while Emily Cefarrati led all players with eight points on seven goals and an assist to lead the Knights.

OLIVET HEAD COACH MARY ANN MELTZER: Mary Ann Meltzer is in her third season as the Comets' head coach.

CALVIN HEAD COACH BLAKE BOEHM: Blake Boehm is in his eighth season as the Knights' head coach.

WINS RECORD: In its fifth season as a varsity sport, Olivet has broken the single-season record for overall wins (nine) and MIAA victories (five). The Comets have also secured their first winning season in school history. In the previous four seasons, Olivet won 10 total games.

CAPTAINS: The 2015 team captains are Merrell, Taylor Guarnaccia, of East Lansing, and Mackenzie Inman, of Union City.

SCORING LEADER: Guarnaccia tops Olivet with 57 points on 46 goals and 11 assists. Merrell is a point behind with 56 points (47 goals and nine assists). Inman is next with 54 points (42 goals and team-high 12 assists). Those point totals also rank 1-2-3 in Olivet's single-season record book.

PROTECTING THE NET: Sophomore Xavier Vance, of West Bloomfield has seen action in 14 games, including 12 starts, and has played almost 711 minutes in the goal. She has given up 127 goals for a 10.72 goals against average, while collecting 96 saves with a .430 save percentage.

LEAGUE LEADERS: Guarnaccia, Inman and Merrell all rank among the top 10 in the MIAA in almost every offensive statistical category. In goals, Merrell is seventh, Guarnaccia is eighth and Inman is tied for ninth. In assists, Inman is fourth, Guarnaccia is seventh and Merrell is tied for eighth. In points, Guarnaccia is seventh, Merrell is eighth and Inman is tenth. Guarnaccia is second with 87 draw controls.

GAME-WINNING GOALS: Merrell is tied for the league lead with four game-winning goals.

CAREER RANKINGS: The three captains will finish their Olivet career ranked 1-2-3 for career points, goals and assists. See the table below to see where they currently rank. Guarnaccia is also the all-time leader in draw controls with 159.

STARTING STREAK: Guarnaccia has started every game of her career, 59, in a Comet uniform.

MIAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The MIAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament is only its third year of existence. In the first-ever tournament in 2013, Adrian defeated Alma, 17-6, in the championship. In the semifinals, Alma beat Hope (20-12), and Adrian beat Albion (21-2).

In 2014, Adrian won its second straight tournament championship over Alma, 16-7. In the semifinals, Adrian defeated Albion (22-10), and Alma defeated Calvin (15-8).