HAVERFORD, Pa. - The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) concluded its academic awards season with the naming of the NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Award on Monday morning. Haverford earned the award for the 16th consecutive season, dating back to the 2006 campaign.
The award recognizes programs that earned a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the 2021-22 academic year.
In total, 148 Division III programs have earned the 2021 NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Award. Earlier this month, Sophia Mercado, Vy Le, and Anna Bradley were all named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. The academic program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2021-22 academic year.
Seniors Caroline Channell, Ravenel Davis, Mercado, Julie Post, Hannah Roth, and Keishla Sanchez, juniors Olivia Ahart, Dalia Bercow, Sophie Frem, Anna Kirn, Delaney Snowden, and Lexie Streicher, along with sophomores Bradley, Allison Cubell, Zora Dallmann, Clare Fleming, Annika Kline, and Margaret Martin and first years Zoey Despines, Le, Ileana Rodriguez, and Mary Smith were also all honored as members of the NFHCA Academic Squad. The award honors collegiate student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the current academic year, and were nominated by their NFHCA member coach.
Haverford finished the 2021 season with a berth in the Centennial Conference tournament, returning to the postseason for the first time since the 2017 season and making a ninth playoff appearance overall. Haverford won 13 of its first 15 contests to begin the year and finished just one victory shy of matching the program's single-season wins record in an electrifying season. Field Hockey also notched a pair of ranked wins, taking down No. 8 Rowan and No. 18 Franklin & Marshall en route to joining the national rankings themselves, peaking at No. 17 in the Division III National Coaches Poll in October.
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) is a nonprofit organization serving field hockey coaches and supporters of the game from across the United States. The mission of the organization is to stimulate the professional development of coaching leadership within the sport of field hockey. The NFHCA strives to cultivate and recognize the professional contributions of its membership and to foster and promote the growth of the sport. The NFHCA is responsible for providing a recognizable presence and voice in regard to legislation affecting the sport as well as interscholastic and intercollegiate programs.