NFHCA National Academic Squad
 
BROCKPORT, N.Y - The Slippery Rock University field hockey team placed 18 student-athletes on the 2021 Division II National Academic Squad, as announced Wednesday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
 
The Division II National Academic Squad program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the 2021-22 academic year.
 
Slippery Rock's 18 honorees account for 90 percent of its entire roster that made the National Academic Squad. As a team, SRU had the 11th highest total of award recipients in Division II.  
 
Highlighting the list of honorees for The Rock were Lauren Marks, Hannah Nurse, Abby Thomas and Jessie Trube. The senior quartet were all named to the National Academic Squad for a fourth consecutive year.
 
Taylor Border, Kayla Del Vecchio, Jordyn Isner, Haley Plitt, Addy Ross and Holly Stiller were all recognized as National Academic Squad performers for the third time in their careers. Four Rock student-athletes also received National Academic Squad distinction for a second time in Gabriella Delcoco, Alex Held, Erin Roland and Katelyn Sparks.
 
Making their first appearances on the on the all-academic team were Grace Burker, Leslie Colliver, Nadia Irving and Haley Metcalf.
 
Two Division II academic awards remain to be announced — the NFHCA Scholars of Distinction will be announced on Feb. 16 and the NFHCA National Academic Team awards will be released on Feb. 21.
 
Entering the 2021-22 academic year, The Slippery Rock field hockey team had recorded the highest GPA in NCAA Division II for seven out of the last 11 years overall.
 
The 2021 season was a great year for Slippery Rock under first-year head coach Rayell Heistand as SRU closed the year with a 7-9 overall record. The seven wins marked The Rock's highest single-season win total over the last four years and the program's second-highest total overall since 2015.
 
NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad
Taylor Border
Grace Burker
Leslie Colliver
Gabriella Delcoco
Kayla Del Vecchio
Alex Held
Nadia Irving
Lauren Marks
Haley Metcalf
Hannah Nurse
Haley Plitt
Jordyn Isner
Erin Roland
Addy Ross
Katelyn Sparks
Holly Stiller
Abby Thomas
Jessie Trube





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