Three Franklin Pierce teams represent the second highest total in the Northeast-10

RINDGE, N.H. (June 21, 2012) -- A trio of Franklin Pierce University athletic teams (volleyball, women's basketball and women's tennis) earned the 2011-12 Northeast-10 Conference Team Academic Excellence Award for their respective sport, as announced on Thursday by the league. The three Raven squads were tied for the second highest total in the league.

The volleyball program, under the guidance of head coach Stephanie Dragan, produced an outstanding 3.573 cumulative grade point average for the year. That total was the second highest among the 23 team academic awards handed out and was bested only by New Haven's women's cross country team which had a 3.590 GPA.

The women's basketball team, under the guidance of new head coach Jennifer Leedham and former coach Steve Hancock, produced an equally impressive 3.539 GPA. That total was the fourth highest among the 23 team GPAs listed on Thursday.

The women's tennis program, under the guidance of head coach Alex Eckhardt, won its team excellence award by posting a 3.435 cumulative GPA. The mark was the eighth highest GPA released by the league.

"I'm very proud of these three programs for their academic success," Vice President/Director of Athletics Bruce Kirsh said. "Being a student-athlete takes a lot of discipline because you must first succeed in the classroom before succeeding on the field or on the court. Coach Dragan, coach Leedham and coach Eckhardt do a great job of staying on top of their student-athletes and their academic work."

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the department's official website at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens).