On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, Upper Moreland seniors Annalise Messina, Addi Hurley, Gianna Brown & Avery Adamski were recognized for committing to play collegiate lacrosse. (Photos courtesy of Stephen Leventhal/UMHS)
“Across the board, one of the reasons that our team was so successful and these kids are so successful is because they all have really good work ethics,” UM coach Kim Frantz said. “Each year we went further in the postseason than the year before. I just think they knew what they wanted, and they worked hard to get it. Their work ethic as a whole class - even the kids that didn't commit - all of them really just had great work ethics.”
Avery Adamski – Molloy University (Lacrosse)
Major: Undecided/Allied Health field
Final list of colleges: Molloy, Stockton
Reasons for choosing Molloy: “The distance and the team. They were all super nice and welcoming. It just made me feel like it was home.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I have been thinking
about playing in college since I was in kindergarten. My mom played, so I’ve always been playing lacrosse. Once junior year came around, I started looking towards playing in college.”
Coach Kim Frantz: “Avery was the heart and soul on my defense for the past three years. She plays the most important position on defense for us. She's the leader back there. She talks and walks everybody through things. It's not a secret that we play a backer zone, and she’s my backer. She is basically in control of the whole defense. She tells people when to go out, when to double team, when to do different things. She’s going to be hard to replace. She’s a big part of our success. In the past, our defense is the reason we've won some of these really big games, and a lot of that comes down to Avery, who gets overlooked because she plays defense. But she was a tremendous player. I think she's going to have a lot of success in college. She's going to be missed a lot more than people realize.”
About Avery:
Favorite food: Shrimp Tacos
Favorite TV show: Grey’s Anatomy
Favorite artist: Zach Bryan
Gianna Brown – University of Massachusetts Boston (Lacrosse)
Major: Chemistry
Final list of colleges: UMass Boston, Immaculata, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell
Reasons for choosing UMass Boston: “I visited, and I just loved the campus, I loved the people – all the professors and teachers are really nice, and the
coach was also great. Everyone was great, the environment was nice, and it was gorgeous there.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I played lacrosse since I was a kid, and I just knew when I got to high school and started playing competitively that I just couldn’t stop after these four years. I knew I had to keep going.”
Coach Kim Frantz: “Gianna was kind of a late bloomer. She didn’t play much varsity until her senior year, but she has the work ethic, which is a revolving theme of our team. She wants to play, and she put a lot of time in, and she improved. The amount she improved from when I first started coaching her to her senior year was just tremendous, and it just comes down to – she wanted to be a lacrosse player, and she worked hard. She was a little bit behind some of the other kids – she didn’t play club, but her personality and her work ethic got her to where she needed to be in order to find a place to play in college.
“Gianna was a tennis player, well-renowned, but she hurt her knee and stopped playing tennis. She still played lacrosse and then just latched on and really loved it and worked hard to improve. She had a lot of growth over the last four years.”
About Gianna:
Favorite food: Pasta of any kind
Favorite TV show: Friends
Favorite music: Country
Addi Hurley – Colby College (Lacrosse)
Major: Biology
Final list of colleges: Colby, Manhattan University
Reasons for choosing Colby: “When I visited Colby, I just really liked the environment. I liked how it was a little town,
not a big city, and the environment on the team with the coaches – very supportive of mental and physical health, so I thought it would be a good fit.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I started playing club lacrosse the end of middle school, and I think that’s when I decided – I’m going to dedicate more time to lacrosse, and I want to pursue it in the future.”
Coach Kim Frantz: “Addi is another kid that was so fun. Her growth was tremendous. Her freshman year, her sister started ahead of her, and she knew her role. Then, as a sophomore, she took over. And by the time her senior year came - where she started and came from and where she ended was just incredible. And again, it came down to, she put the work in. She played club, she did the extra work. She goes to goalie training on weekends. She has a very good understanding of the field and what should happen. She would be like - how do you feel about this player in this position? What are you seeing that I'm not seeing? She has a really good high lacrosse IQ and can really see the field well. Addi had over 500 saves during her career as a goalie. She's fun, she brings energy, and she's just a great kid.”
About Addi:
Favorite food: Chicken Parm
Favorite movie; The Pursuit of Happiness
Favorite music: Folk music
Annalise Messina – Rutgers University (Lacrosse)
Major: Biology
Final list of colleges: Rutgers, Syracuse
Reasons for choosing Rutgers: “I picked Rutgers because I liked the environment, and I think I fit in really well with
the team on my visit. I just really liked what the school had to offer and just the environment.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I actually never really thought about playing college until I was playing with my club team, and our coaches kept telling us that we had to start looking at colleges. So, I decided to look, and I guess I realized I wanted to play at a high level when I started to really care about the way I performed. I couldn’t really think about giving up the sport going out of high school.”
Coach Kim Frantz: “Annalise was so much fun to coach and watch and just see her growth over the four years through her club team, through the school team. Her growth was just amazing to watch. She was named an All-American for the second year in a row, and she finished her career with over 400 goals.
“I've always talked about her work ethic. She was very dedicated to lacrosse. It’s what she loved. It's what she did all the time. She put in the extra work. It wasn't just practice that she did it. She would practice on her own, and that was just the kind of kid she was. So, I'm very excited to watch her play in college and just see her success in the next four years.”
About Annalise:
Favorite food: Chicken Parm
Favorite movie: Top Gun
Favorite music: Country
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