From Liberty Club Sports
By Ted Allen
Liberty University’s ACHA Division II women’s hockey team experienced one of the best seasons in program history in 2022-23, finishing 17-7-2 after ending the regular season on a 10-game unbeaten streak, narrowly missing a bid to the ACHA DII National Championships near Boston.
“We brought in 10 new players, seven freshmen and a few transfers, and had lots of growth — learning, getting to know playing styles and personalities, everything on and off the ice,” Lady Flames Head Coach Rena Leone said, noting the roster grew from 15 the previous season to 20 this past year.
She is looking forward to building on that success with a strong returning corps of veteran players and five new recruits ready to take the ice by storm in the fall semester.
The incoming class includes three forwards — Cora Williams, from Kittanning, Pa., who will be a force in front of the net, according to Leone, as she studies to prepare for a career in sports medicine; Gabby Moss, a former Junior Flyers teammate of current Lady Flames junior center Madison Gaddy and sophomore right wing Maria Pais, who will join the team as a forward pursuing her nursing degree; and Allison Gailitis, from Canton, Mich., who plans to study mechanical engineering.
Gailitis said she chose Liberty because of “the worldview it applies to everyday subjects and the opportunity to deepen her relationship with Christ.”
The class also features defenseman JulieAnn Nye, who played for the Alaska All-Stars 19-under AAU team and plans to study Zoology (Pre-Vet); and goalie Abby Manzewitsch, who played for the Steele City Selects in Murrysville, Pa., and will enroll in the School of Engineering.
“My Christian faith is really important to me, and I like that I can go to a school with people that share my faith,” Manzewitsch said. “I also love that Liberty takes hockey seriously. It has amazing facilities, and a great fan base. That really sets it apart from the other schools I was looking at. I am excited and looking forward to being a part of it all.”
The Lady Flames’ returning players are equally thrilled to meet the newcomers and help them transition to the collegiate game, knowing Liberty will need their contributions if it is to reach the next level.
“I’m excited to come back and see how much more we can grow, and I’d like to get to know the incoming freshmen as well as continue with the relationships with the girls we currently have,” sophomore defenseman Emma Wallace said.
“I’m super excited to be able to pick up where we left off,” Lady Flames junior left wing Hunter DiGrazia added. “We won’t have to start entirely from scratch. We will add some new talent, add some new girls … and it will help us to grow so we will be able to go to (the ACHA DII) nationals (in March in St. Louis).”
Leone hopes to scrimmage Liberty’s five-time defending national championship ACHA Division I women’s hockey team again at the beginning of the semester to see what areas the Lady Flames need to improve in the most.
“They are such a good, competitive team that if we can set our standards to match their energy on the ice, (when) we play any other women’s DII team, we should roll over them,” Leone said.
(Originally published at https://www.liberty.edu/club-sports/news/dii-womens-hockey-adds-five-recruits-to-talented-corps-for-promising-2023-24-season/)
