The Westwood Connection

In her 10 seasons at Northwestern, women’s lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has developed quite a recruiting pipeline to Westwood High School in suburban Boston. With the three freshman who joined the team in 2010–11, eight former Westwood Wolverines have suited up for the Wildcats — including two-time Tewaaraton Trophy winner Kristen Kjellman (C07). “She started it all,” said Wildcat junior Alex Frank. “She took the risk and came here.” Alex — and three of her Northwestern teammates — played for her mother, Westwood coach Leslie Frank. Leslie also sent another daughter, three-time All-American Meredith Frank (WCAS09), to play for Amonte Hiller. The Franks make up one of two Westwood sister acts at Northwestern. Defender Sara Harrington (C10) played four seasons for the Wildcats, and her younger sister Kerri is a freshman on the Northwestern squad. Northwestern’s four former Wolverines returned to their old high school field for a fall ball tournament at Westwood. Ten current Wildcats hail from the Bay State, and Amonte Hiller honed her lacrosse skills in her hometown of Hingham, just 20 miles from Westwood. The Wildcats will travel to Massachusetts again in late March to face the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.