NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) has announced Tuesday its 2021 Outstanding Assistant Coach award winners, with UIndy's Erin Abbott-Gillin earning the nod for Division II. The Outstanding Assistant Coach award recognized Abbott-Gillin for her distinct impact on the success of Greyhound women's lacrosse program through her hard work, commitment, dedication and sportsmanship.

Abbott-Gillin helped lead UIndy to a 14-2 record last spring, finishing the season ranked third in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll after snagging the top spot on the separate occasions. Head coach James Delaney wrote in his nomination for the award, "Her impact is felt throughout our program. As the lead assistant, she was overseeing the #1 defense in the country, the IWLCA National Defender of the Year, two All-Americans, two All-Region Selections, the Conference Defender of the Year, four All-Conference Selections, and much more. She was also responsible for our rides and clears, and for anyone who has seen us play or matched up against us, those are some of our strongest areas of our team."

The Hounds had the top offense and defense in the nation in 2021, averaging 19.8 goals per game while holding their opponents to 5.3 goals per. Abbott-Gillin not only coached the top-ranked defense, but her goalkeepers were the ninth-ranked in Division II, recording a .530 save percentage. Goalkeeper Cassidy King and defender Kara Antonucci were both selected as IWLCA Third Team All-Americans this past season.

"This is truly an amazing and emotional recognition, and one that I was not anticipating," Abbott-Gillin said. "In January I gave birth to our stillborn daughter, Halle Claire Gillin, after 36 weeks of pregnancy. The physical and mental challenges I had to endure returning to work only three short weeks after saying goodbye to our daughter were extremely difficult. There were many days where I didn't think I would be able to show up and finish the season but being around the team and our amazing group of young women gave me the strength to do so. I need to give so much credit to the athletes who were willing to work every single day, regardless of how I was able to show up (or not) for them. I would like to thank my players, Coach Delaney, assistant coach Abbie McEntee, my family members, and most importantly, my husband Carney, for supporting me in my position. As an update to our journey, Carney and I are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our second child and first son, Beau Gregory, due in December."