CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The University of North Carolina women's lacrosse team has signed eight student-athletes to National Letters of Intent for the 2008 season, head coach Jenny Levy announced on Wednesday. The eight will enroll at Carolina and join the women's lacrosse program this fall.

The group includes two signees apiece from New Jersey and New York. It also includes student-athletes from Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia. The eight signees are Taylor Chumney (Moorestown, N.J.), Corey Donohoe (Jarrettsville, Md.), Katy Fitzgerald (North Andover, Mass.), Lily Haydock (Locust Valley, N.Y.), Mia Hurrin (Alexandria, Va.), Sarah Kuonen (Syracuse, N.Y.), Kaitlyn Messinger (Mendham, N.J.) and Rachael Zimmerman (Englewood, Colo.).

"We're very excited about this freshman class, which is a huge addition to our program and one of the best classes we've ever had at Carolina,"?Levy says. "We obviously lost a large and talented group off of the 2007 team to graduation, and we'll need these freshmen to contribute right away. It's very strong overall as a group and includes some extremely talented individual players. This is a strong group academically as well, which is always crucial at the University of North Carolina."

Chumney, Donohoe, Fitzgerald, Hurrin, Kounen and Messinger all were named 2007 Under Armour All-Americas and will take part in the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic this weekend at Loyola College's Geppi-Aikens Field.

Chumney was a three-sport star at Moorestown High School in Moorestown, N.J, excelling in basketball and soccer as well as lacrosse. She was an all-state and All-America selection on the lacrosse field as a junior, leading Moorestown HS to its seventh consecutive state title and a No. 2 national ranking.

Donohoe was named the top female athlete in the state of Maryland by the Baltimore Sun after averaging 24.8 points per game in basketball and tallying 83 goals and 44 assists in lacrosse in 2007. Also the Sun's All-Metro lacrosse player of the year, she played lacrosse, basketball and field hockey at North Harford HS in Pylesville, Md. Donohoe was named first-team all-county in lacrosse three times, in basketball two?times and in field hockey twice. She led the lacrosse team in scoring and assists since her freshman season. An honorable mention All-America in lacrosse as a junior, her sister plays lacrosse at Northwestern University.

Fitzgerald was a four-sport athlete at North Andover HS in North Andover, Mass., starring in lacrosse, soccer, basketball and track. She was North Andover's lacrosse team MVP as a junior and will be the team's captain this spring. She earned all-league honors as a sophomore and junior.

Haydock, a native of Locust Valley, N.Y., attended Choate Rosemary Hall prep school in Connecticut. She was named to the New England All-Star Team in 2005 and 2007 and won the Yellow Jackets Galaxy Award and the Wild Boar Athletic Award (earned six or more varsity letters at Choate). An honor roll student, Haydock was a three-year starter at goalkeeper for Choate in lacrosse. A two-year letterwinner in field hockey as well, both of Haydock's parents were athletes at Princeton University. Her father, Walter, played lacrosse for the Tigers.

Hurrin, a lacrosse and field hockey star at the St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Va., is a member of the 2007 U.S. Lacrosse Women's Under-19 Training Team. She earned honorable mention All-America honors as a junior and led St. Stephen's &?St. Agnes to a No. 3 national ranking. She led her team to the state championship and a second-place national finish in 2007. A Dean's List student, Hurrin also was named to the 2007 Tewaaraton High School All-America team.

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2007-06-13