Smith earns a sport on the ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad for the first time after earning National Player of the Year honors last fall. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Skyhawks earn ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Team Award for 14th straight year
Five Skyhawks collect ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad honors
ZAG/NFHCA National Team Academic Award Announcement
ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad Announcement
EASTON, Mass. (April 3, 2018) – Five members of the Stonehill College field hockey program have been named to the ZAG Field Hockey/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) NCAA Division II National Academic Squad for their performances in the classroom, while the program was one of 27 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 14th straight year, presented annually to programs who achieve a 3.0 team GPA or higher. The Skyhawks are one of ten Northeast-10 Conference programs, out of 14, on the Academic Team list. The academic distinction comes after Stonehill finished second in the NE10 regular season standings and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth straight year and ninth time in program history, overall.
In addition to receiving the ZAG/NFHCA Team Academic Award, five Stonehill student-athletes were named to the ZAG/NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad for having a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better through the first semester of the year. Senior Hannah Gifford (Goffstown, New Hampshire/Goffstown) headlines the group of Skyhawks by being named to the National Academic Squad for the fourth-straight year. She is joined on the National Academic Squad by her teammates, junior All-American Kacie Smith (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood), the Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Year, as well as freshmen Taylor Ladue (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional), Abigail Potvin (Holden, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) and McKenzie Woerner (Clifton Park, New York/Shenendehowa) who all earn the honors for the first time.
Gifford, an interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.51 cumulative grade point average at Stonehill, finishes her Stonehill career as a four-time ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad honoree. She has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll all seven semesters. Gifford started 44 of her 68 career games played, starting the last 40 games, and finished with 13 career points on five goals and three assists, including two goals and an assist for five points last fall.
Gifford |
Smith |
Ladue |
Potvin |
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Woerner |
Smith, a health care administration major with a 3.31 cumulative GPA at Stonehill, earns ZAG/NFHCA National Academic Squad status for the first time after being named the Longstreth/NFHCA Division II Player of the Year this past fall. She enjoyed a record-breaking junior season, setting a new NCAA Division II record with her 41 goals scored, leading all three levels of NCAA field hockey in goals and points. Smith, who appeared in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the November 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, finished the year with an NE10-record 99 points, just three shy of the NCAA Division II mark, also adding a Stonehill record 17 assists to lead Division II in that category as well. The two-time NE10 Player of the Year, earned NE10 Academic All-Conference honors for the first time in her career this season and has been named to the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor Roll each of the last three semesters.
Ladue, a physics major who earned a 3.68 GPA in her first semester at Stonehill last fall, earned a spot on the NE10 All-Rookie Team after appearing in 19 games and totaling five goals and two assists for 12 points. She earned a spot on the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and Athletic Director's Honor roll following the fall semester.
Potvin, a psychology major who earned a 3.38 GPA in her first semester at Stonehill, appeared in four games during her freshman season. She was named to both the NE10 Commissioner's and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls. Woerner, a chemistry major with a 3.76 GPA in her first semester at the College, started 16 of her 17 games played as a member of the Skyhawks defensive unit. She chipped in with one defensive save for the season for a defense that posted a 2.20 team goals against average with six shutouts and also earned a spot on the NE10 Commissioner's and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls.
Stonehill finished its 2017 season with a 13-7 record overall, including 10-2 in the NE10, earning the program's ninth NCAA Tournament bid after appearing in the NE10 semifinals for the fifth-straight year.
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