Oct. 28, 2009

Jamie Gillis, a senior from North Billerica, MA (Billerica H.S.) is the latest UMass Lowell student-athlete to make Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd, which hit newsstands on Wednesday.

The honor is the latest for Gillis, who recently set an NCAA Division II record for consecutive shutout minutes in UMass Lowell’s 3-0 victory over Southern Connecticut Saturday, Oct. 17.

In the 51st minute of the match, Gillis surpassed the previous NCAA mark – 1,192 minutes without conceding a goal by Nikki Kalavitis of Lynn University in 1997 – and went on to record her 13th shutout of the season.

Gillis extended her streak of shutouts minutes to 1,333 on Saturday in the River Hawks 1-0 loss in double overtime at No. 2 Saint Rose.

Gillis ranks sixth among Division II goalkeepers in goals against average (0.297) while UMass Lowell is fourth in shutout percentage (.750, 12 in 16 matches).

UMass Lowell, ranked No. 23 in this week’s NSCAA Division II Poll, hosts Merrimack tonight (7:00) in its regular season finale and will also host the quarterfinal of the NE-10 Tournament Sunday at 1:00 against an opponent to be determined.

Gillis is UMass Lowell’s second-ever women’s soccer player and the latest River Hawk to be included in Faces in the Crowd. She joins former standouts Ruben Sanca (track & field, 2009), field hockey coach Shannon Hlebichuk (2008), Joanna DaLuze (field hockey, 2005), Elad Inbar (men’s basketball, 2004) and Jackie MacLean (women’s soccer, 1997).

An exercise physiology major, Gillis is the daughter of James and Denise Gillis of North Billerica, MA.