JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Daniel McNulty, Joe O'rourke and Mike Williams haven't lived in Jacksonville very long, but already they're making a difference.

They all moved to the city just a few months ago to play lacrosse for Jacksonville University.

The three young freshman grew up quickly this past weekend at the beach when they helped saved two people's lives.

"Joe noticed some lady was kind of struggling," McNulty said.

"She kept screaming that she couldn't breathe, that she was tired and was going to drown," O'rourke said.

The woman was caught in a rip current, and the students swam out to help her.

"Right when we got over to her, she was really panicked, pulling on us, freaking out," McNulty said. "We were able to calm her down."

"It was real hard to calm her down," Williams said.

"We told her to stay calm, the lifeguards were on their way, it would be OK," O'rourke added.

And it was.

The lifeguards credited them for helping save her life.

It wasn't the first time that day the students had helped save someone's life. Just a few minutes before, Williams helped another swimmer to safety.

"We kind of paddled him until the lifeguards came and got him on a board," Williams said.

"I said, 'What happened?'" the lacrosse players' coach Matt Kerwick said. "They said there was a couple of people in trouble and it all turned out well. I said 'It sounds like a bigger deal than you guys are making it out to be.'"

None of them has ever had any lifeguard training, but they're strong, Division I college athletes who sprang into action at just the right time.

"They probably jumped into something that was a little bit dangerous," Kerwick said. "I give them a lot of credit."