Field Hockey Receives Academic Recognition from NFHCA


Stonehill earned the NFHCA's Team Academic Award for the 12th straight year. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Skyhawks earn ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Team Award for 12th straight year
Seven Skyhawks collect ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad honors

EASTON, Mass. (July 11, 2016) – Seven members of the Northeast-10 Conference Champion Stonehill College field hockey program were recently named to the ZAG Field Hockey/National Field Hockey Coaches Association NCAA Division II National Academic Squad for their performances in the classroom, while the program was one of 27 programs in Division II honored for having a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Stonehill received the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Team Award for the 12th straight year, presented annually to programs who achieve a 3.0 team GPA or higher. The Skyhawks are also one of ten Northeast-10 Conference programs on the Academic Team list, out of 13 programs. The academic distinction comes after Stonehill captured a second straight NE-10 Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals for the fifth time in program history.

In addition to receiving the ZAG/NFHCA Team Academic Award, seven Stonehill student-athletes were named to the ZAG/NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad. Recent graduates Elizabeth Thornton (Needham, Massachusetts/Needham) and Maggie Travers (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate) headline the seven Skyhawks, by being named to the National Academic Squad for the fourth straight year.

Joining Thornton and Travers on the National Academic Squad are rising seniors Jackie Del Bonis (North Attleboro, Massachusetts/North Attleboro), Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) and Amanda Proia (Maynard, Massachusetts/Cushing Academy) as well as rising juniors Hannah Gifford (Goffstown, New Hampshire/Goffstown) and Rachael Wallace (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough). The National Academic Squad recognizes those student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher.

Thornton, who recently graduated with a 3.69 grade point average as an education major, finished her four year career at Stonehill with 12 goals and seven assists for 31 points in 72 games played including two goals and four assists for eight points as a senior. In addition to being a four-time ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad member, she is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon national honor society and earned a spot on the Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all eight semesters at the College.


Thornton

Travers

Del Bonis

Morse

Proia

Gifford

Wallace
 

Thornton, who earned a spot on the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team last fall, collected Longstreth/NFHCA All-America second team and All-Northeast-10 second team honors as a junior. She participated in Stonehill's Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program during her time at the College, working with Robert Rodgers, assistant professor of political science, and William Ewell, associate professor of political science, on The Conservative Advantage: Partisan Bias in the American Political System.

Travers, who recently graduated with a 3.67 grade point average as a mathematics major with a minor in secondary education, started 51 of her 72 career games played at Stonehill and totaled two goals and five assists for nine points as a leader on the Skyhawks defensive unit, earning a spot on the NE-10 All-Tournament team after helping lead the team to a second straight title. She dished out a career-high four assists as a senior and totaled five defensive saves over her career, including two each as a junior and senior.

In addition to being a four-time ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad member, Travers was named to the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team as a senior. She is a member of Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Society and has earned a spot on the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all eight semesters at the College.

Del Bonis, a criminology major with a 3.68 cumulative GPA at Stonehill, earns a spot on the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad for the third straight year. She is a member of the Edwin H. Sutherland Criminology Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all six semesters.

Del Bonis has appeared in 23 games over her collegiate career as part of a defensive unit which has annually ranked among the best in the NE-10 and all of Division II. The Skyhawks posted a 2.04 team goals against average in 2015 with four shutouts.

Morse, a finance major with a 3.76 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, earns a spot on the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad for the third straight year. The Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society inductee earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® women's at large third team this spring after being named to the Academic All-District I at large first team and the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team this season. Morse has also received the St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average on the field hockey team the last two years and been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all six semesters to date.

Morse spent the spring semester studying abroad in Australia after earning Longstreth/NFHCA All-America and synapsesports.com All-America first team honors last fall. She is a two-time NE-10 All-Championship team member, earning Most Outstanding Player honors in helping lead Stonehill to its second straight championship in November after also collecting All-NE-10 First team accolades. Morse has started 41 of her 59 career games played and totaled six goals and 24 assists for 36 points, ranking fifth in program history for career assists.

Proia, a criminology major with a 3.49 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, earns a spot on the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad for the second straight year. She is a member of the Edwin H. Sutherland Criminology Honor Society and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll four semesters each. Proia has appeared in six games over her two seasons with the Skyhawks as part of the defensive unit, which posted a 2.04 team goals against average and four shutouts in 2015.

Gifford, a biology major with a 3.46 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, is named to the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad for the second straight year. She has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all four semesters. Gifford has appeared in 28 games over her two year career, with four starts, totaling two goals and an assist for five points. She dished an assist in 20 games last fall, adding a defensive save.

Wallace, also a biology major with a 3.49 cumulative GPA, makes her second straight appearance on the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad as well. She has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all four semesters at the College to date and has started 13 of her 27 career games played, including 17 appearances last fall. Wallace chipped in with a goal during her freshman season in 2014.

The Skyhawks finished 2015 with a 14-17 record, including a 9-3 mark in NE-10 play. They captured the programs third NE-10 conference championship, and second straight, with a 2-1 victory over Assumption College in the championship game. The Skyhawks qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament, falling 1-0 to Merrimack College in the semifinals. Stonehill's 2016 schedule opens on Saturday, September 3, when it hosts defending national champions East Stroudsburg University as part of Skyhawks Kickoff Weekend at 1 p.m.

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