On DeLuca's plaque: One of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award as national player of the year her senior year, she was first-team IWLCA All-America in 2010 and second-team All-America in 2008 and 2009. In the Ivy League she was 2007 Rookie of the Year, 2010 Player of the Year, three-time first-team All-Ivy and second-team All-Ivy as a freshman. Penn did not lose an Ivy League game during her career (28-0)—her class the first in Ivy history to graduate undefeated—and advanced to the NCAA's Championship Weekend three times, playing in the 2008 final and in the semifinals in 2007 and 2009. She was named Academic All-Ivy as a senior.
 
By Marc Narducci
 
Ali DeLuca (now Cloherty) had many eye-popping statistics as a lacrosse player at the University of Pennsylvania, but one set of numbers truly stand out: 28-0.
 
During her four seasons playing lacrosse at Penn, from 2007-10, The Quakers went 28-0 in Ivy League play.
 
28-0?
 
That is unheard of.
 
So is the fact that Penn not only advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of those seasons, but the Quakers also reached the NCAA Final Four three times, advancing to the final in 2008.

"For someone like Penn to get to the Final Four three times is incredible, but when I tell people about 28-0 in the Ivy League my four years, that is what I start with," Ali said recently. "That is what I feel is mine and my team's biggest accomplishments. It's such an incredible feat that I am still in awe of."
 
It's just one of many incredible accomplishments during her tenure at Penn, one that has landed her induction to the school's 12th Athletics Hall of Fame class.
 
The 11-member class will be inducted on May 7 at The Inn at Penn.
 
Numbers don't tell the entire story of her greatness, but they sure paint an impressive picture.
 
Before Ali's freshman season in 2007, Penn hadn't played in an NCAA game since 1984 and had one win in school history.
 
Penn won eight NCAA games during her four years, with the best season in 2008 when the Quakers beat Duke, 9-8 to advance to the NCAA final. The season ended with a 10-6 loss to Northwestern in the championship. That was the same Northwestern team which Penn defeated that regular season, 11-7.
 
Want some more numbers?
 
Penn went 63-11 during her four seasons.
 
The most single-season wins in school history? All of them came during her four seasons. The 17 wins in 2008 are still No. 1, followed by 16 in 2007 and 15 each in 2009 and 2010. (The 2016 team also won 15 games).
 
Ali is No. 1 on Penn's all-time list for career goals with 148. She is No. 7 in assists with 65 and tied for third with 213 career points.
 
Awards?
 
As a senior in 2010 she was among five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award as national player of the year. That same year she was a first-team IWLCA All-American after being a second-team choice in both 2008 and 2009.
 
She was a three-time first-team IWLCA All-Region choice from 2008-10.
 
After being named Ivy league Rookie of the Year and earning second-team All-Ivy League honors in 2007, she was a first-team All-Ivy selection in her final three seasons.

Whew!
 
What makes this even more impressive is that Ali didn't begin playing organized lacrosse until eighth grade.
 
Her high school Hillsborough, located in Central New Jersey, had recently started a program when she was in eighth grade. Ali and her sister Krystina, who was a year older and ended up playing lacrosse at Brown, took to the game quickly.
 
"My daughters went to a six-week lacrosse camp and loved it," said Debbie DeLuca, their mother. "They were both hooked."
 
And they played so well together, like sisters are apt to do.

"It was the best playing with Ali," Krystina DeLuca said. "We had that wired sister connection."
 
One person who saw Ali's talent before others was Laurie Stagnitta. A former college assistant for more than a decade at Washington & Lee, Stagnitta is a Penn graduate. When her husband Jim became the men's lacrosse coach at Rutgers, they moved near Hillsborough High School.
 
Stagnitta became an assistant coach at the high school and quickly spotted the great potential that Ali possessed.
 
"She was the first person to recognize my talent," said Ali, who was also a standout basketball point guard in high school.
 
It was Stagnitta who suggested that Ali should look into Penn.
 
During the recruiting process, Stagnitta was asked by a college coach who Ali reminded her of.
 
"The only person I could think of was Allen Iverson," she said. "Her athleticism and footwork were unbelievable."
 
She compared Ali's best moves to Iverson's killer cross-over dribble.
 
"Ali had that same move and she was unstoppable, even if you knew that was coming, but I didn't know how that was going to translate against good college players," Stagnitta said.
 
It was Stagnitta who called Penn coach Karin Corbett and suggested she give Ali a look, offering the Iverson analogy of her ability.

"It didn't take Corbett long to realize that Stagnitta's praise of Ali wasn't hyperbolic.
 
"I went to a high school game and immediately realized, 'wow this kid is pretty incredible,'" Corbett recalled. "She was so quick, could change directions on a dime and had all the raw tools for sure."
 
Corbett came away thinking that Ali would be an immediate starter and that is what happened. Ali played midfield, alternating between excellence on defense and dominance on offense.
 
None of the success surprised Ali's father, Al DeLuca. He was a four-year starting defensive back at Boston University, so he knows a good athlete when he sees one. When asked if he envisioned this type of success for his daughter in college, he doesn't hesitate.
 
"Absolutely," he said.
 
Her father then expanded on the subject.
 
"She was doing things when she was little and was naturally coordinated," he said. "She was very coordinated at a young age."
 
What made Ali so beloved to her teammates was how she handled all of her success.
 
"You would never know she was the star of the team," said former teammate Barb Seaman. "She was so humble, but when she got on the field, she would blow your mind."
 
Seaman was a defender so she clashed with Ali in practice.
 
"That was never fun, but if you could do well again her you could match up against pretty much anybody in the country," she said.
 
Seaman, Ali and Meg Smith (now Greenberg) were all roommates and teammates throughout their four years. Greenberg said you couldn't ask for a better teammate.
 
"Ali led by example, she didn't give grand speeches," Greenberg said. "To look at her and how hard she worked, it was a great influence on all of us."
 
Emma Spiro (now Emma Pittard) was a defender who came to Penn with Ali in 2006 and, like Greenberg and Seaman, remains a close friend.
 
"She was something special on and off the field," Pittard said. "Everybody trusted her, and everybody knew she was out to be the best team player and wasn't out for herself."
 
Ali loved the relationship with her teammates, the competition and of course the winning. Playing in three Final Fours is something she will never forget.
 
"When you showed up to the Final Four, the energy and just the number of people that were there, you almost felt like you were a professional athlete, playing in the Super Bowl," said Ali, who along with her husband Colin have two sons with a third child due June 6. "It was a memory that I'll cherish forever and such a cool experience to be part of, win or lose,"
 
She will also cherish her Hall of Fame honor, more so because she gets to celebrate it with so many people who have played such a vital role in her success.
 
"Getting to walk down memory lane, I'm just so excited," she said. "It's such a proud accomplishment and I'm just really, really honored."