Acone Becomes First Two-Time Academic All-America In Stonehill History With Selection To 2005-2006 ESPN The Magazine National At-Large Squad

June 15, 2006

Stonehill College senior women's lacrosse standout Erin Acone, one of three four-time All-America selections in school history, has made history once again for her work in the classroom after being named today to the 2005-2006 ESPN The Magazine College Division Women's At-Large National Academic All-America team in a vote of the College Sports Information Directors of America. In earning third team accolades for the second straight year, Acone becomes the first two-time Academic All-America honoree in Stonehill history in being one of five individuals who have earned the award during their matriculation at the College.

A native of Bow, N.H. and a graduate of Bow High School, Acone is one of 46 individuals to be named to the prestigious Academic All-America squad, as the 2006 Stonehill graduate posted a 3.31 cumulative grade point average while earning her degree in sociology last month. Acone joins Don Prohovich '80 (baseball), Kevin Broderick '93 (football), Julie Stockwell '00 (basketball) and Amy Bartlett '02 (lacrosse) in the exclusive Stonehill Academic All-America club, as Acone, Stockwell and Bartlett hold the distinction of earning both All-America and Academic All-America accolades in their respective sports during their careers.

Acone enjoyed a brilliant career on the field for Head Coach Michael Daly's squad, as she ranks eighth on the NCAA Division II career scoring list with 227 goals and 311 points and is one of two players in league history to be named as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year for three straight seasons. A four-time IWLCA Division II All-America selection, Erin helped lead the Skyhawks to four straight Northeast-10 regular season and tournament championships with a perfect 39-0 conference mark, and she helped Stonehill capture a pair of NCAA Division II national crowns during her freshman campaign in 2003 and again as a junior in 2005 when the Skyhawks posted a perfect 21-0 record en route to the title. Acone, who helped lead Stonehill to a 68-8 mark during her career, is also featured in this week's edition of Sports Illustrated in its "Faces In The Crowd" column in honor of her record setting accomplishments.

A six-time Stonehill Athletic Director's Honor Roll selection for her work in the classroom, Acone is also a two-time Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference honoree. She is the only Division II player nationally to be named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List in each of the last two seasons as well.

The Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America), a 2,000 member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

To be eligible, a student-athletes must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the programs inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

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