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Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Westwood High School Senior Lillian Guleserian signs a letter of intent with Penn State to play collegiate Division I Women's Golf.
11-22-2024 12:02am
Eight Westwood High School Athletes Sign Collegiate Letters of Intent
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Thanks to Westwood Public Schools for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.
Westwood High School golfer Lillian Guleserian made history recently as the very first golfer from the program to sign a letter of intent to play Division I Women’s Golf in college. Guleserian, considered one of the top amateur female golfers in the state, will head to Penn State University in the fall.
“She is an incredible golfer,” said WHS Athletic Director Matthew Gillis. “She has a complete game, and it’s so exciting to see her out there playing so well. For all four years, she’s just been an incredible player on our team.”
Ranked first on the WHS team, Guleserian has an impressive record on the amateur circuit. She recently finished second place at the New England High School girls golf championship held in Connecticut. She came away with the first-place trophy at last summer’s Golfweek New England Junior Open and has previously placed third at the New England Women’s Amateur Championship.
“I knew I wanted to play in college as long as I can remember,” said Guleserian, who is exploring law and political science.
Also heading to a D-1 program is senior Caroline Nozzilillo, who will play lacrosse at Brown University. “They got a new coach this previous year. I went to one camp and fell in love,” said Nozzilillo, who started playing the sport in second grade. “All three coaches are new this year, so they are rebuilding, and I’m excited to see where the program goes.”
Twin sisters Charlotte and Emilie Demaio are both headed to Quinnipiac University to play lacrosse. “I’m really excited,” said Emilie Demaio. “A huge part of our decision is that we knew we wanted to play together, and I’m really happy that we get the chance to.” The twins will both major in public relations, but say they have decided not to room together.
“We will need that space since we’ve been together for long,” said Charlotte Demaio. “We couldn’t imagine ourselves going anywhere else. We looked at other schools and, when we got on the [Quinnipiac] campus, it was so fitting and the coaches really made it feel like home.”
Gillis said he has seen an increase in the number of Westwood student athletes signing letters of intent to play in college over the last several years.
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Westwood High School student athletes who will continue their sporting careers in college are (L to R): Cecelia Thurmond, Charlotte Demaio, Caroline Nozzilillo, Emelie Demaio, Bridget Mulkeen, Lillian Guleserian, Harper Morrison, and Dante Martucci.“We have a tremendous athletic program here,” said Gillis. There’s a lot of support in the community. Students start when they’re really young and get really good coaching along the way. We can’t thank the families enough for everything they do getting their kids ready to go out and compete at a level that can elevate them to the next level and to college.
The remaining students who signed letters of intents are: Dante Martucci, who will play football at Assumption College; Harper Morrison, who will play soccer at Longwood University; Bridget Mulkeen, who will play softball at Holy Cross; and Cecelia Thurmond, who will play lacrosse at Hofstra University.
Athletic Director Matt Gillis anticipates additional Westwood High School seniors to sign their letters of intent in the spring.
