GLEN ALLEN, Va. --- Nine student-athletes members of the Moravian College field hockey team have been named to the 2014 Gladiator by SGI/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Academic Squad announced by the NFHCA.
Moravian was also one of 120 NCAA Division III schools to earn the honor of being named an NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Award winner for having a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. The Greyhounds were joined on the list by all seven of their Landmark Conference rivals - The Catholic University of America, Drew University, Elizabethtown College, Goucher College, Juniata College, The University of Scranton and Susquehanna University.
"I am proud that our team has achieved the NFHCA Academic Team award for the 12th straight year," stated Head Coach Amy Endler. "The commitment the student-athletes have shown in the classroom is tremendous and they clearly put a lot of effort into their studies. Led by four-time NFHCA Academic Squad honorees, Taylor Holly and Emily Marley, the players send a message to the entire team that we take our academics as seriously as our field hockey skills."
Seniors Taylor Holly, Emily Marley, Cayley Wise and Bryn Tafuri, juniors Tiffany Gumina and Rebecca Hamel and sophomores Christina Duddy, Kyla Rodrigues and Erin Tiwold represented the Greyhounds on the squad which included over 1,350 NCAA Division III players from 141 teams. To be named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average through the first semester of the 2014-15 academic year. Holly and Marley are both four-year recipients of the honor.
The group helped the Greyhounds post an 8-10 record this past fall. Tiwold scored six goals and two assists while Hamel, who was on the NFHCA Honors of Distinction list, added four goals and an assist. Duddy netted three goals and three assists for Moravian while Rodrigues, who was also on the NFHCA Honors of Distinction list, had two goals and four assists. Wise and Gumina each had one assist while Holly, who was another member of the NFHCA Honors of Distinction list, missed the first two-thirds of the season with an injury. Marley contributed four defensive saves while Tafuri added two defensive stops.
The complete awards list can be found at http://www.eteamz.com/nfhca/files/2014DIIINatlAcadSquad.pdf.