On February 14^th the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) named 14 members of the Ithaca College field hockey team to the 2023 NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad. Across 156 institutions in Division III this year's list includes 1813 student-athletes for their outstanding academic achievements.
 
 The NFHCA National Academic Squad program, sponsored by OPA Winning Teams, celebrates undergraduate collegiate student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher throughout the fall semester of the current academic year. These recipients have also been nominated by their dedicated NFHCA member coaches.
 
The student-athletes who received this honor are Reese Abrahamson, Meara Bury, Alex Clough, Sarah DeVito, Caroline Folan, Ainsley Grant, Audrey McMahon, Catherine Papa, Brenna Schoenfeld, Breeah Shaw, Brady Sullivan, Kiley Sullivan, Juliann Vadney, and Payton Yahner.
 
291 student-athletes were also highlighted as four-time honorees named to the 2023 National Academic Squad. Three Ithaca seniors, Clough, K. Sullivan, and Vadney, were distinguished as four-time honorees for their consistent demonstration of hard work and academic achievements throughout the four years of their undergraduate journey. Their accomplishment is recognized in the award listing.
 
Connecticut College secured the highest number of Academic Squad selections this year with an impressive total of 26 student-athletes named to the prestigious list. Middlebury College followed closely, claiming the second highest spot with 24 athletes while Johns Hopkins University, Juniata College, and Shenandoah University obtained the third spot, each having 22 student athletes named to the squad.
 
Just days later, on February 19^th, the NFHCA released the names of the student athletes recognized on the Division III 2023 Scholars of Distinction list. This year a total of 509 undergraduate students were honored including Ithaca's own Folan, Grant, Shaw, and Yahner.
 
This distinguished program further honors undergraduate student-athletes who have demonstrated exceptional academic excellence by maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or above during the fall semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.
 
Middlebury placed the highest number of student-athletes on the list this year with an impressive 12 honorees. The University of Lynchburg followed closely behind with 11 student-athletes recognized.
 
The 2023 honorees for both the National Academic Squad and  Scholars of Distinction  lists
are both alphabetically ordered first by school, then by name. Both lists are also searchable and filterable.
 
The NFHCA National Scholar Athlete will be announced on February 26^th, 2024. Stay updated with the announcement and all collegiate field hockey news by visiting the official NFHCA website.