For the second year in a row, The Sun’s Female Athlete of the Year is a member of the women’s hockey team. Last year’s winner — Izzy Daniel ’24 — was an incredible individual talent and a bridge between the pre-pandemic success and the post-pandemic rebuild of the program. Like Daniel, Rory Guilday ’25 was instrumental in rebuilding Cornell’s women’s hockey program to a place of excellence. Unlike Daniel, Guilday remained long enough to see the Red return to college hockey’s promised land: the Frozen Four.  

For Cornell, the 2024-2025 season was a historic one. The team won its fifth ECAC title, made its fifth Frozen Four appearance, and set a women’s hockey attendance record at Lynah Rink. 

“[At the ECAC] championship we had a spectacular crowd, and I remember having chills the entire time, from when we first stepped on ice through the national anthem when everyone yelled ‘Red,’” Guilday said. “I think honestly, maybe I got a little teary eyed.”  

The Red’s impressive season came five years after the cancellation of the 2020 National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament while the squad was slated as the top seed and four years after the Ivy League missed the entirety of the 2020-2021 season. There may be no player who better represents the post-pandemic resurgence of the women’s hockey program at Cornell than Guilday.

 When Guilday first stepped foot on campus, little remained of the impressive 2019-2020 team. 

“It was a really, really young, inexperienced team because of the loss of the [COVID-19] year and … I think the team we had at that point there was only a few girls — a handful — who had actually played in college games before that season,” Guilday said. “We had a big freshman class, I think 11 or 12 of us … It was chaos.”

Making matters worse, the 2022 Winter Olympics were held during Guilday’s freshman year, meaning head coach Doug Derraugh ’91 was missing for stretches of the season while coaching for Team Canada. Despite Cornell’s mediocre record (14-14-2, 12-8-2 ECAC), what Guilday dubbed a “rebuilding year” triumphed in setting up the team for future success. 

“We all kind of took on the learning curve together, and did what we could do for that year and we all learned a lot,” said Guilday. “It took trial and error, and rebuilding this team back up … it was for the people in that room and for no one else. We wanted to get better, and we did each year. I think that’s because of the people we had in the locker room and our amazing coaches that guided us in the right direction, and we eventually made it.”

Make it they did. After finishing sixth in the ECAC during the 2021-2022 regular season, Guilday and the Red finished fifth, then fourth, in the following two years. During these three seasons Guilday was excellent, racking up 43 points and twice finishing second on the team in blocks. While her sophomore campaign was shortened due to injury, Guilday played in 29 and 32 games her freshman and junior seasons respectively, earning All-Ivy honors in both years.    

Then came the 2024-2025 season.

It’s no coincidence that what makes Guilday such a special player is almost identical to what propelled this year’s team to greatness: gritty lockdown defense, timely scoring and a close bond. 

For both Guilday and Cornell, the defense comes first. This summer, Guilday will be a top pick in the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft because of her defense prowess. At 5’ 11’’, the Minnesota native terrorizes forwards with her physical defensive playstyle, while also being able to keep her head up to close down passing and shooting lanes. 

“She sees the game really well, and she’s a big strong girl,” said senior defender Ashley Messier. “She’s tall, powerful …. She uses her size to her advantage, she’s just so consistently a shutdown defender.”

Unsurprisingly, Guilday fits in well with Derraugh’s defense-oriented coaching style, and both she and her team dominated on that side of the ice her senior year.   

“We know how good each of our players are, and we just had confidence in [the] fact [that] we had each other’s back, and we prided ourselves on defense this year as a whole,” Guilday said. “That was our coach’s goal, and our goal as a team, was to be the best team defensively, and I feel like we showed up and showed out for that.”

“Showed up and showed out” might be an understatement. In Guilday’s final season, the Red allowed the second fewest goals in the NCAA, tallied the fourth-most shutouts (10) and earned the fifth-best penalty kill percentage. Guilday was excellent on an individual level as well, being named to the All-Ivy first team and All-ECAC third team. 

For both Guilday and Cornell, defensive skill didn’t come at the cost of offense. Despite her reputation as a shutdown defender, oftentimes the first thing Guilday’s teammates want to talk about is her shot. 

“She can shoot better than any female hockey player I’ve ever seen,” Messier said.

“She has an absolute rocket of a shot,” said senior forward Gabbie Rud.

Sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann dubbed Guilday’s slapshot the “hardest shot in the ECAC.”

In fact, the power play unit had an entire play built around the biblical power of her shot.

“One of our plays, we called it the ‘Red Sea’ because you just gave her the puck and she would just wind up and everyone would get out of the way because her shot’s so hard,” Rud said.

While Guilday’s senior season offensive stats don’t necessarily jump off the page at five goals and four assists, her timing proved crucial for Cornell. On a team whose offense motto could be summed up as “any player on any night,” Guilday fit right in, with all five of her goals coming against the four ECAC teams that spent the season battling Cornell atop the conference standings. Her biggest game of the season came on January 10th on the road against then-No. 5 Colgate, when she scored both goals in a 2-1 win to snap a seven-game road losing streak against the Raiders.

But beyond results on the rink, what made this season so special for Guilday and her teammates was the team’s bond.

“There are so many incredible people here who want what’s best for you and want to help you grow and see you thrive … I’m going to miss these people so, so, so much,” Guilday said. “They mean the world to me, and I will always be grateful to them.” 

While leaving Cornell will be bittersweet for Guilday, her future is bright. After graduating from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a degree in psychology, Guilday is nearly certain to be picked in this summer’s PWHL draft and join the six Cornellians already playing in the league. 

“I’m no stranger to hard work here at Cornell, and I think that’s going to help me a lot in the PWHL,” Guilday said. “It’s a fast, physical game there and it’s obviously professional hockey with the best players in the world, and I think that I’m well prepared because of what coach [Derraugh] has taught me and what we’ve been through as a team.” 

“She’s gonna excel at the next level in the PWHL,” Rud said. “I can’t wait to watch her, especially with the league being allowed to hit. She’s going to be so good.” 

Speaking of playing with the best players in the world, after the draft the next question is whether Guilday will be named to Team USA’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The selection would not come as a shock since Guilday has already totalled 38 games and nine points for the US National Team, helping her country win three Women’s World Championship medals and a Six Nations Tournament title. 

“It’s always an incredible honor,” Guilday said when asked about representing the US on the ice. “It’s something that you are grateful for every time you pull on that jersey and every time you’re involved with that group.”

Regardless of what comes next, Guilday’s impact at Cornell is undeniable. Along with her 10 fellow seniors, Guilday helped lead Cornell from a .500 team to competing for National Championships.

“I’m maybe a little biased because she’s one of my best friends, but she is the best human being I know. She’s such a good, well rounded person,” Rud said. “Obviously a very good teammate, friend, person. She excels not only on the ice but off the ice, as well in the classroom. I have nothing but good things to say about her.” 

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WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Isabela Miller of the women’s lacrosse team and senior Liam McLinskey of the men’s ice hockey team have been selected as the 2024-2025 winners of the John A. Meegan Athletic Achievement Award. Presented by the Holy Cross Varsity Club, the Meegan Award goes to one male and one female student-athlete, regardless of class, who attained outstanding achievement during their college careers. This award is given by the club in memory of the late John A. Meegan (Class of 1939), loyal follower of all Crusader sports and esteemed treasurer of the Varsity Club from 1988 to 1996.

Miller earned first team All-Patriot League honors in each of the last two years and started all 18 games for the Crusaders at attack this season. The team’s leading scorer with 85 points on 33 goals and 52 assists, she broke the school single-season record for assists while placing second for points. Miller finished the season ranked second in the Patriot League in assists per game, and fourth in points per game. During her collegiate career, Miller recorded 119 goals and 128 assists for 247 points, breaking the all-time program record for assists and standing second in points.

McLinskey led the Crusaders and Atlantic Hockey, and ranked second in the nation, with 54 points on 24 goals and 30 assists in 40 games this season. McLinskey became the first Atlantic Hockey player to be named Player of the Year twice, and tacked on Forward of the Year, Scoring Champion, First Team, and All-Tournament Team honors. A two-time Hobey Baker Top-10 selection and second team east All-America selection, McLinskey finished his three seasons at Holy Cross with 126 points on 64 goals and 62 assists. McLinskey received the award at the conclusion of last year as well.

Complete List of Meegan Award Winners

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross men’s ice hockey team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
Twitter – @HCrossMHockey | @goholycross
Instagram – @hcrossmhockey | @goholycross
Facebook – Holy Cross Men’s Ice Hockey | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube – GoHolyCross

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS:
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross women’s lacrosse team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
Twitter – @HCrossWLAX | @goholycross
Instagram – @hcrosswlax | @goholycross
Facebook – Holy Cross Women’s Lacrosse | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube – GoHolyCross 

GRAND FORKS — Since Dane Jackson was hired as UND’s head coach in late March, and Bryn Chyzyk as general manager in April, the Fighting Hawks have been in a sprint to finish the 2025-26 roster.

The new regime, along with retained assistant Dillon Simpson, has made seven new additions to the roster and has three or four to go.

While the 2025-26 roster has been the focus, they’ve also been working on future recruiting.

The staff landed its first in-the-pipeline commit last week in Cooper Williams, a center for the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades.

Williams is UND’s second overall commit from Canadian major juniors. Forward Josh Zakreski of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks committed under former coach Brad Berry.

Due to an NCAA rules change last November, Canadian major junior players are allowed to retain their college eligibility for the first time in decades.

Williams is a bit of a unique Canadian Hockey League-NCAA commitment.

Most players committing out of the three major junior leagues — the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — have been older, and are entering college this season.

According to

Chris Heisenberg’s recruiting database,

Williams is the second-youngest CHL player — and the youngest from the WHL — to commit to an NCAA program so far.

Only Miami commit Maxim Dube, who plays in the QMJHL, is younger.

What type of prospect is Williams? What should fans expect?

That can be hard to measure with CHL players because there are no past examples of how they produce in the NCAA to use as a comparison.

Instead, I looked at how many players have tallied 50-plus points in the WHL during their U17 season. Williams tallied 57 this season.

In the last 15 seasons, 27 players have done it.

The most notable part? Nearly all of them have been picked in the top two rounds of the NHL Draft — or will be.

So far, 19 of them have gone through their drafts. Fourteen were taken in the first round, four in the second round and one in the third. Notably, that third-rounder was Tampa Bay Lightning first-line center and two-time Stanley Cup champion Brayden Point.

Eight have not gone through their drafts.

Two are projected to go No. 1 overall in upcoming drafts — 2026-eligible Gavin McKenna and 2027-eligible Landon DuPont.

Three are draft-eligible in June and are all ranked inside TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s top 30 — Ben Kindel (No. 25), Cole Reschny (No. 29) and Cameron Schmidt (No. 30).

The other three are 2025-eligible Jordan Gavin, a potential late-round pick, 2026-eligible Ryan Lin, a potential first-rounder, and Williams.

Williams hasn’t been a part of much NHL Draft speculation to this point, but his numbers indicate that might change this year.

Williams will head back to the Blades for the 2025-26 season. He’ll come to UND in 2026 or 2027.

If he lands in the same sphere as his U17 peers in the WHL, 2026 seems more likely.

Since 2010
100 — Connor Bedard (Round 1, Pick 1)
97 — Gavin McKenna (2026, expected No. 1 overall)
69 — Andrew Cristall (Rd. 2, Pick 40)
69 — Tanner Howe (Rd. 2, Pick 46)
63 — Zach Benson (Rd. 1, Pick 13)
62 — Sam Reinhart (Rd. 1, Pick 2)
60 — *Landon DuPont (2027, expected No. 1 overall)
60 — Ben Kindel (2025, Central Scouting No. 21)
59 — Brayden Yager (Rd. 1, Pick 14)
59 — Dylan Guenther (Rd. 1, Pick 9)
59 — Cole Reschny (2025, Central Scouting No. 24)
58 — Cameron Schmidt (2025, Central Scouting No. 43)
58 — Riley Heidt (Rd. 2, Pick 64)
58 — Nick Merkley (Rd. 1, Pick 30)
57 — Cooper Williams (2026)
57 — Brayden Point (Rd. 3, Pick 79)
57 — Kailer Yamamoto (Rd. 1, Pick 22)
56 — Nolan Patrick (Rd. 1, Pick 2)
55 — Berkly Catton (Rd. 1, Pick 8)
55 — Ryder Ritchie (Rd. 2, Pick 45)
54 — Matt Barzal (Rd. 1, Pick 16)
54 — Peyton Krebs (Rd. 1, Pick 17)
54 — Sam Steel (Rd. 1, Pick 30)
54 — Jordan Gavin (2025)
53 — Cole Sillinger (Rd. 1, Pick 12)
53 — Dylan Cozens (Rd. 1, Pick 7)
53 — *Ryan Lin (2026)
*DuPont and Lin are defensemen

Former UND star Jackson Blake is producing for the Carolina Hurricanes, who are playing the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.

Blake is tied as the top rookie scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with five points in 10 games.

Teammate Logan Stankoven, who qualifies as a rookie, also has five points in 10 playoff games.

Blake is one of three UND players left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tyson Jost, who played 39 games with Carolina this season, is on the roster but hasn’t suited up yet in the playoffs.

Troy Stecher and the Edmonton Oilers are taking on the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

Matt Kiersted played in two games with Florida this season, but is currently with American Hockey League affiliate Charlotte. Kiersted and the Checkers are one win away from the Eastern Conference Final.

• UND commit Keaton Jundt of West Fargo has signed with Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Jundt was a Fargo Force draft pick in the USHL.
• Jake Livanavage, back at home in Arizona, skated with former UND star Jonathan Toews on Monday. Toews is looking to sign an NHL deal for next season. Livanavage is returning to UND for his junior season.
• Ralph Engelstad Arena hosted a camp with top young prospects last weekend. R.J. Thompson, a 2010-born forward, was one of the notable players at the camp. Thompson is eligible to commit on Aug. 1, 2026.
• Incoming UND freshman defenseman Sam Laurila was named the team MVP of the Fargo Force this season.
• Chris Jandric is tied as the leading defenseman scorer in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs. Jandric plays for Trois-Rivières, which holds a 2-0 series lead on three-time champion Cam Johnson and the Florida Everblades.
• St. Thomas announced it will open Lee and Penny Anderson Arena on Oct. 24 against Providence.
• Michigan State commit Tyson Jugnauth, the WHL’s Defenseman of the Year, will sign with the Seattle Kraken rather than attend college. To fill that roster void, the Spartans picked up Ferris State transfer Travis Shoudy, who was originally scheduled to go to Colorado College. Shoudy’s brother, Tiernan, is a senior at Michigan State.

Carlsbad, Calif. – Oklahoma State wrapped up its season with a 15^th place showing at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
 
The Cowgirls finished with the event with the sixth-lowest 72-hole team score in program history at 1,180 (+28) but were unable to secure one of the eight spots in Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals.
 
Grace Kilcrease led the way at 3-over par, tying for 30^th place on the individual leaderboard while putting herself in the conversation for All-American honors. Sophomore Marta Silchenko wasn’t far behind, tying for 40^th in a field of 160 golfers at 6-over.
 
Ellie Bushnell finished strong with a 75 to grab a share of 54^th place at 10-over par.
 
The two first year’s, Summer Lee and Lucy Darr –- subbing in for Tarapath Panya — shot 77 and 80 respectively in Monday’s final round.
 
For all-around coverage of Oklahoma State women’s golf, visit okstate.com or follow @Cowgirlgolf on social media.
 
Team Leaderboard:
1. Stanford (-27) — 293-278-270-284
2. Oregon (-6) — 288-289-285-284
3. Northwestern (+2) — 291-285-280-298
4. Florida State (+3) — 295-284-288-288
5. Southern California (+4) — 292-287-285-292
6. Arkansas (+6) — 297-290-280-291
7. Texas (+8) — 288-293-288-291
8. Virginia (+15) — 294-293-289-291
CUT LINE
9. Arizona State (+16) — 288-294-293-293
10. South Carolina (+17) — 297-286-289-297
10. LSU (+17) — 293-297-290-289
12. UCLA (+19) — 295-294-293-289
13. Tennessee (+21) — 291-297-288-297
14. Mississippi State (+26) — 294-286-302-296
15. Oklahoma State (+28) — 284-297-297-302
 
Individual Leaderboard:
T30. Grace Kilcrease (+3) — 69-71-75-76
T40. Marta Silchenko (+6) — 71-76-73-74
T54. Ellie Bushnell (+10) — 71-78-74-75
T63. Summer Lee (+12) — 73-75-75-77
169. Tarapath Panya (N/A) — 74-75-82-SUB
172. Lucy Darr (N/A) — SUB-SUB-SUB-80
 

COLLEGE PARK, MD — The Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) announced at the end of April that former University of Maryland Head Coach Bob ‘Duke’ Nelligan has been inducted into the WCGA Hall of Fame.

Nelligan led Maryland Gymnastics for 31 years, from 1979 to 2009, building a legacy defined by passion, leadership, and excellence. Under his guidance, the program qualified for the NCAA Southeast Region Championships 14 times and recorded 494 wins — the fourth-most in Maryland Gymnastics history.

Throughout his storied career, Nelligan earned numerous accolades, including Southeast Regional Head Coach of the Year and EAGL Conference Head Coach of the Year.

Following his retirement in 2009, his son Brett Nelligan took over as head coach, continuing the family legacy and guiding the program forward with the same spirit and dedication.

Coach Nelligan’s impact on the sport continues to inspire generations of gymnasts, coaches, and fans. His Hall of Fame induction is a testament to his remarkable career and enduring legacy.