Nine student-athletes, team honored by NFHCA

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University field hockey team placed nine student-athletes on the 2010 Gladiator by SGI/NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad and also received the NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Team Award.

Seniors Brittany Lopes (Lexington, Mass.) and Jillian Stanley (Watertown, Conn.), juniors Natalie Balletta (Leominster, Mass.), Samantha Dalton (Falmouth, Mass.) and Nikki Schlegel (Kennebunkport, Maine), sophomore Regina Wrenn (Cheshire, Conn.), and freshmen Kristen Nazzarese (Ringwood, N.J.), Molly Shine (Southborough, Mass.), and Jessica Whittier (Scituate, Mass.) were each selected to the team. The National Academic Squad recognizes those student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2010-11 academic year. Lopes, Stanley, Balletta, Dalton, Schlegel, and Wrenn are all repeat selections.

"These nine student-athletes should be applauded for their dedication and success in the classroom," said Salve Regina head coach Jen Eldridge. "They embody what we want our student-athletes to be and have set the example for our entire team."

A total of 64 student-athletes from seven The Commonwealth Coast Conference institutions were named to the squad. New England College led the way with 16, followed by Western New England College (13), Endicott College and Salve Regina University (nine each), Gordon College (seven), Regis (Mass.) College (five), and Nichols College (four).

Salve Regina was also one of five TCCC institutions to receive the NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Team Award, joining Endicott, Gordon, NEC, and Nichols. In order to qualify, teams must have achieved a minimum GPA of 3.0 during the first semester of the 2010-11 academic year. This is the third-consecutive year the Seahawks have received this honor.

"We are also very honored to be recognized as a team with the National Academic Team Award," said Eldridge. "As a team, we have players from a variety of majors such as nursing, education, and business, and our players do a wonderful job of balancing their academic and athletic commitments."