LaRegina Earns NE-10 Academic All-Conference Honors

 
Senior Elizabeth LaRegina earns NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors for the fifth time in her career with her first cross country selection.

All-Americans Ingersoll, Sheehan and Wheaton headline list of Skyhawks 

EASTON, Mass. (January 31, 2014) – Stonehill College has placed nine student-athletes from its fall athletic programs on the Northeast-10 Conference Academic All-Conference teams released by the league office today.

Stonehill’s nine selections include three All-Americans and rank third in the NE-10 behind just Bentley University and American International College with 11 each. Senior All-Americans Devin Ingersoll (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) and Gina Sheehan (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) from the field hockey program and Amy Wheaton (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) from the women’s soccer team headline the Stonehill selections, along with senior James Lanier (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) from the football team who was a National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award candidate and Campbell Trophy semifinalist. Field hockey led the way for Stonehill with three Academic All-Conference selections, while the NE-10 and NCAA East Region Champion men’s cross country program earned two spots.

To be eligible for selection to the academic teams, a student-athlete must have met and/or exceeded the following minimum requirements: 1) participated in at least half of the team’s competitions and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale); and 3) completed at least one academic year at his/her current institution. The Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference teams are chosen by a vote of a selection pool that includes administrators, Senior Woman Administrator council, Sports Information Directors and the Faculty Athletic Representative council.

Ingersoll, a Capital One Academic All-District I selection as a junior, earns NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors for the second straight year. She has earned a 3.84 cumulative grade point average as an environmental science major at Stonehill, with a minor in business administration. Ingersoll is a two-time All-America selection, collecting second team honors from both the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) and synapsesports.com this fall after being named to the Longstreth/NFHCA All-America second team as a junior. She is a two-time All-NE-10 first team pick and was named the NE-10 Rookie of the Year as a freshman in 2010.

Ingersoll started all 84 games over her collegiate career and capped her career ranked tenth in program history with 68 career points, sixth all-time with 20 career assists and ninth with 24 career goals. She started all 22 games this fall and led the team with 11 assists to go with five goals for 21 points. Ingersoll netted two gamewinning goals and also chipped in with a defensive save, ranking sixth in the NE-10 and 12th nationally for assists. She has been named to the Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA National Academic Squad three years to date and has earned NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll status all seven semesters and Athletic Director's Honor Roll six times, including this past semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Ingersoll was also selected to participate in the Front Rush/NFHCA Division II Senior All-Star Game.

Sheehan, the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year this past fall, earns Academic All-Conference honors for the first time and has achieved a 3.43 cumulative grade point average as a mathematics major at Stonehill, with a minor in secondary education. She was named to both the Longstreth/NFHCA and synapsesports.com first team All-America teams this fall for the first time in her career, also collecting All-Northeast-10 honors for the first time with her first team selection. She started all 22 games on the Skyhawks backline this fall and led a defensive unit which ranks fourth in the NE-10 and ninth nationally in Division II with a 1.78 team goals against average. The Skyhawks defense limited opponents to 11.5 shots, including 7.6 on goal, and 6.7 penalty corners per game and ranks fourth in the NE-10 with three shutouts. Sheehan recorded one defensive save this season and has chipped in with a pair of assists.


Ingersoll

Sheehan

Lanier

Wheaton

Gouveia

LaRegina

Fontanella

Wilcox

Canniff

Sheehan started all 84 games over her collegiate career and earned Gladiator/NFHCA All-Academic Squad honors two years and was selected for the Front Rush/NFHCA Division II Senior All-Star Game this fall. She has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all seven semesters and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll five semesters to date. Sheehan was a synapsesports.com Division II All-Rookie squad and NE-10 All-Rookie selection as a freshman in 2010.

Senior Kelly Gouveia (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) rounds out the field hockey program’s three Academic All-Conference selections by earning the honors for the first time in her career. She has produced a 3.90 cumulative grade point average while majoring in education at the College and has earned the St. Thomas Aquinas Patron Saint of Students Medal, for having the highest cumulative GPA on the team two straight years. Gouveia is a member of Lambda Epsilon Sigma and Kappa Delta Pi National Honor Societies, has earned Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA National Academic Squad honors three straight year and been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll status all seven semesters to date.

Gouveia finished second on the team this fall with 26 points on ten goals and six assists, starting 21 of 22 games played. She has started 25 of 50 career games played over her four seasons at Stonehill and finished her career with 13 goals and six assists for 32 points.

Wheaton collects her second consecutive NE-10 Academic All-Conference women’s soccer selection after earning the honor in 2012, a season in which the goalkeeper was named an honorable mention All-American by Daktronics. She has earned a 3.72 cumulative grade point average as a biology major at the College and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all seven semesters to date and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll five semesters. Wheaton posted a 1.49 goals against average and a .774 save percentage this past fall for a Stonehill squad that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the NE-10 Tournament. She was also was selected to the Scholar All-East Region third team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America

Wheaton earned All-New England first team honors by the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association, as well as first team All-Conference and NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors during her junior season. She played all 1,668:26 in the Stonehill goal in 2012 and led the NE-10 with a .889 save percentage and third with a 0.65 GAA.

Lanier is named to the football NE-10 Academic All-Conference team for the second straight year, having earned a 3.51 cumulative grade point average while majoring in criminology at the College. A National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award candidate and William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist, Lanier has earned Capital One Academic All-District honors his junior season, has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all seven semesters and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four semesters at the College. The Dean's List student is an Edwin Sutherland Criminology Honor Society member, is the MOSAIC (Male Diversity Club) Club Facilitator and Community Service Representative, football team's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative and Boys & Girls Club of Brockton Youth Diversion Program mentor. He has completed internships with Plymouth County (Mass.) District Attorney's Office, United States Marshals Service and Burlington County (N.J.) Superior Courthouse.

Lanier started all 11 games for Stonehill on its way to a share of the NE-10 regular season championship and finished fifth on the team with 56 tackles (41 solo), including 2.0 tackles for a loss of a yard, an interception, five pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He was a leader on special teams as well, leading the punt coverage team with eight tackles. Lanier finished his career with 126 tackles (97 solo), including 3.5 stops for a loss of six yards, an interception, nine pass breakups, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in 42 career games played.

Senior Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) earns NE-10 Academic All-Conference honors for the fifth time in her career and the first time for cross country, as she was recognized as a member of the indoor and outdoor track and field teams as both a sophomore and junior. She has earned a 3.84 cumulative grade point average as a psychology major at Stonehill, claiming a perfect 4.0 GPA during the Fall 2013 semester. LaRegina also collected Capital One Academic All-District first team accolades last spring and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll all seven semesters. She represents the cross country and track and field programs on the Stonehill Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and is a member of the Psi Chi and Lambda Epsilon Sigma National Honor Societies.

LaRegina helped lead the cross country team to its fifth straight NE-10 and East Region title, and its 14th straight trip to the NCAA Championships last fall. LaRegina opened her 2013 season by winning the Shacklette Invitational, and her 14th place finish in 23:13.8 at the East Region Championship was good enough to earn All-East Region accolades.

Senior Trent Fontanella (Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin), a 2011 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honoree, earns his third career NE-10 Academic All-Conference selection after being recognized for both indoor and outdoor track as a junior. He has earned a 3.71 cumulative grade point average as a double major in criminology and psychology at Stonehill. He is a recipient of a Division II ADA Academic Achievement award as a sophomore in 2011-12 and has earned NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all seven semesters and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll five semesters. Fontanella represents the men’s cross country and is chairperson of Stonehill’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Fontanella captained Stonehill to its third consecutive Northeast-10 title and first East Region championship since 2007 this past fall, helping the Skyhawks reach their 11th straight NCAA Championship. The senior’s best performance of the season came at the NE-10 Championship, when he placed eighth overall in 25:49, earning him All-NE-10 second team honors.

Junior Bryan Wilcox (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) is making his third appearance on the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team, after doing so last spring as a member of the track and field team and the previous fall with the cross country program. He has earned a 3.65 cumulative grade point average while majoring in accounting at the College. Wilcox also earned Capital One Academic All-District I honors last year and is a four time All-Northeast-10 Conference performer and represents the men’s cross country and track and field teams on SAAC. He has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll all five semesters and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four semesters.

Wilcox, who won the NE-10 championship for the 10,000-meter run last spring with a time of 32:08.89, served as a captain of Stonehill’s 2013 NE-10 and East Region championship teams. He competed at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season and was one of two members of the cross country team to post both All-Conference and All-Region performances in 2013.

Senior forward Timothy Canniff (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) represents the Stonehill men’s soccer team on the NE-10 Academic All-Conference team for the first time, having earned a 3.58 cumulative grade point average as a marketing major, posting a perfect 4.0 GPA for the fall 2013 semester. He represents the men’s soccer team on SAAC and has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll six semesters and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four semesters.

Canniff started six of the 16 matches he played for Stonehill in his senior season and scored his first two career goals. He tallied his first goal in a 1-1 draw with American International College on October 19th. He found the back of the net again two matches later, as Stonehill defeated Saint Michael’s College, 2-1, on October 29th.

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 nine straight years, 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 two years if 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.

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