ODU Field Hockey Team Wins National Academic Award
The Old Dominion University field hockey team was named a 2007 ZAG/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I National Academic Team Award winner after compiling a 3.68 cumulative grade point average as a squad, the highest GPA among all Division I field hockey programs. Additionally, 18 members of the Lady Monarch team were named to the 2007 ZAG/NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad, also the most of any Division I field hockey program.
The 18 members are: seniors Samantha McLenegan (Middletown, Pa.) and Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfontein, South Africa); juniors Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.) and Katelyn Smither (Suffolk, Va.); sophomores Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland), Alyschia Conn (Peach Bottom, Pa.), Courtney Seiders, (Mount Joy, Pa.), Kathleen Shea (Elizaville, N.Y.), Katie Ueberroth (Stevens, Pa.) and Hanna Warren (Green Lane, Pa.); freshmen Amanda Bieber (Elizabethtown, Pa.), Paige Clutter (Chambersburg, Pa.), Arianne Evans (Lewisberry, Pa.), Loran Hatch (Green Lane, Pa.), Stephanie Kratzer (Lititz, Pa.) and Samantha Richardson (Surrey, British Columbia); and former Lady Monarch Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, Va.), who will be wrapping up her degree this year. It is the most Lady Monarchs named to an NFHCA All-Academic team in school history.
Five Lady Monarchs are making their second appearance on the all-academic team: Van Aswegen, a speech/language pathology major; Conn, a chemistry major; Beek, an international business major; Seiders, a speech pathology and audiology major; and Smither, a health and physical education major.
Beek, Driscoll, Smith and van Aswegen were also standouts on the field, as well as the classroom, earning First Team All-CAA honors. Bieber and Hatch, who were named to their first NFHCA All-Academic Team in their first season with the Lady Monarchs, also earned post-season honors. Both were named to the CAA's All-Rookie team, with Hatch earning CAA Rookie of the Year honors.
Top 5 Performers in Team GPA
1. Old Dominion University 3.68
2. American University 3.51
Tie Indiana University 3.51
4. University of Maine 3.50
5. Monmouth University 3.49