Trisha Pierson |
Stonehill’s total of 248 ranks third in the NE-10
EASTON, Mass. (June 19, 2014) – A total of 248 Stonehill College student-athletes have been named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for earning a grade point average of 3.0 or better during the spring semester.
This semester’s Honor Roll includes representatives from each of Stonehill’s 19 NE-10-affiliated athletic programs. Four student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 GPA, including sophomore Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Connecticut/Rocky Hill), a Daktronics All-East Region second team and NE-10 All-Conference first team selection from the softball team, classmate Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park) from the NE-10 Champion women’s indoor and outdoor track & field teams, as well as recently graduated seniors Catie Kelly (Medfield, Massachusetts/Medfield), the captain of the women’s soccer team, and Sarah Biggers (Cortlandt Manor, New York/Lakeland) from the women’s cross country and track & field teams.
Other notable honorees on this semester’s list include seniors Kelsey Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) from the women’s lacrosse team, Zack Soulier (Milford, Connecticut/Jonathan Law) from the baseball team, and Kaitlyn Martin (Mattapoisett, Massachusetts/Medway) from the women’s tennis team.
Zack Soulier |
Shannahan wrapped up her collegiate
career this spring by becoming the 30th All-American in
the history of the Stonehill women’s lacrosse program.
Shannahan, a two-time All-Northeast-10 selection who earned first
team All-North Region honors for the first time in 2014, earned her
first All-America award after starting all 19 games for Stonehill
this season and leading the team with 63 points (9th
NE-10) and 50 goals (8th) to go with 13 assists.
Soulier, a second team All-NE-10 selection, earned All-Region
honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association for the first
time in his career after going 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA this season.
Soulier's nine victories led the NE-10, and the senior southpaw
also became Stonehill's all-time wins leader with his
24th career triumph against Adelphi University in the
NE-10 Tournament on May 9th.
Martin earned All-NE-10 first team and NE-10 All-Championship team honors this spring after helping lead Stonehill to the semifinal round against Adelphi. Martin, a four-time All-Northeast-10 performer over her career at Stonehill, was a first team performer for the Skyhawks for the second straight year at No. 5 singles. She posted a combined 40-17 record in singles and doubles play, including a 21-6 singles mark while winning all 12 matches in NE-10 play. Martin was named the NE-10 Player of the Week on September 24 for the third time in her career.
Also included on this semester’s NE-10 Honor Roll are Stonehill’s latest All-American performers, senior Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Massachusetts/New Bedford) and junior Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) from the men’s and women’s track & field programs. Dixon turned in an eighth place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.35 seconds, while Curit placed seventh in the 800-meter run in 2:10.75 at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan on May 22-24.
Kelsey Shannahan |
Stonehill’s 248 student-athlete honorees for the spring semester ranks third in the NE-10, behind only Bentley University and Adelphi University. Stonehill saw 57% of its student-athletes earn Honor Roll recognition, which is in line with the average for the conference. The football team led the way with 44 honorees, while the women’s tennis program had the highest percentage (88%) of its student-athletes make the Honor Roll.
With 20 intercollegiate sports,
Stonehill boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in
the country. The Skyhawks have finished in the top three in the
final NE-10 Presidents' Cup standings ten straight years, including
a second place finish in 2013-14, winning the Cup four times,
including a streak of three-straight from 2009-10 through 2011-12.
This prestigious award is given to the top performing athletic
school in the Northeast-10, across all sports and seasons.
Stonehill has received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for
Academic Achievement each of the first three years of the program's
existence of honoring programs with an Academic Success Rate (ASR)
of 90-percent or better. The Skyhawks have earned a 97% Academic
Success Ranking (ASR) by the NCAA, which considers the academic
success rate of the institution based on the graduation rate of
student-athletes, good for fifth among all NCAA Division II
institutions, with ten Skyhawk teams receiving a perfect rating of
100%. In addition, the Skyhawks are ranked sixth in the National
Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA) Power Rankings used to
assess the academic and athletic standards of all NCAA and
NAIA athletic programs. Stonehill has also been the host site
for the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships at W.B.
Mason Stadium.
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