Five Hope College women's lacrosse players have been earned spots on the 2016 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Zag Sports NCAA Division III Academic Honor Roll.

Seniors Abigale Cassella of Okemos, Michigan (Okemos HS), Brittany Engbers of Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo Christian HS) and Mackenzie Schumborg of Ann Arbor, Michigan (Saline HS), join juniors Dana Kym of Libertyville, Illinois (Libertyville HS) and Reinie Thomas of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in representing the Flying Dutch.

In order to be eligible for this honor, student-athletes must be a junior, senior, or graduate student and earned a cumulative academic GPA of 3.50 or greater. There were 149 Division III honorees.

Earlier this week, Hope was named an IWLCA Zag Sports Division II Academic Honor Squad.

Hope coach Kim Vincent said she and her team excel on the field and in the classroom by striving to find strength in their differences.

"We have many, and we celebrate them. It's not always perfect and sometimes messy, but these young ladies have the courage to face challenges and the work ethic to accomplish more than they ever thought they could. I believe all of this contributes to the quality of education for our student athletes," Vincent said. "Having this team experience, I hear our players say they feel supported, empowered and able to achieve more in all aspects of their lives.

"I would say the outcome of this devotion, energy and love for team and teammates has a real and positive impact on each one of our players. What we have is pretty cool. It's a culture of excellence which the athletes perpetuate because they love it, and something that is important to them."