Team Collects Division II National Academic Team Award

NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad
NFHCA Division II National Team Award

RINDGE, N.H. (March 2, 2010) – Freshman forward Susan Conroy (Walpole, Mass.); sophomore forwards Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass.), Tia Levins (Manchester, Maine) and Lauren L’Heureux (Sanford, Maine); freshman midfielder Alyssa Juszczyk (Warren, Mass.); senior back Samantha Newman (Belgrade, Maine); and sophomore goalkeeper Brittany Nyzio (Attleboro, Mass.) of the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team have all been named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Academic Squad, as announced Tuesday by the NFHCA. To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must have posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher through the fall semester.

In addition, Franklin Pierce was one of 18 teams selected as recipients of the NFHCA Division II National Academic Team Award. To receive the award, teams were required to post a 3.0 grade-point average or higher in the fall semester. The Ravens posted a 3.21 grade-point average last semester.

Conroy posted a 3.50 grade-point average in the fall and is majoring in criminal justice. On the field, she made 13 appearances, scored one goal and collected six shots on goal in 2009. Conroy made her collegiate debut and picked up her first career goal in Franklin Pierce’s season-opener at Assumption on Aug. 31.

Dolan owns a 3.45 grade-point average through three semesters in Rindge and is majoring in psychology. She played in all 18 games last fall for the Ravens and led the team with six goals and 14 points. Dolan picked up her first career assist in the season-opener at Assumption and posted a goal and an assist against Saint Michael’s on Sept. 22. After scoring goals against Saint Anselm and at Saint Michael’s near the end of October, she was named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for the first time in her career for the week ending on Oct. 25. This is Dolan’s second selection to the National Academic Squad in as many seasons.

Juszczyk put together a 3.67 grade-point average in her first college semester and is a sports management major. She started in all 18 Franklin Pierce games in 2009 on her way to selections to the womensfieldhockey.com All-Rookie Squad and the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team. Juszczyk finished the season with four points on one goal and two assists. The first point of her career came on an assist against American International on Sept. 19. Juszczyk later picked up her first collegiate goal in the Ravens’ 3-1 upset of then-No. 4 nationally ranked Stonehill on Oct. 7.

Levins leads the Ravens with a 3.78 grade-point average over her first year-and-a-half at Franklin Pierce as a business management major. After playing sparingly in 2008, she exploded onto the scene for the Ravens in 2009, as she played in 17 games and led the team with four game-winning goals. Levins finished her sophomore season with five goals (tied for second on the team) and one assist for 11 points (third on the team). She scored the first two goals of her career at Saint Anselm on Sept. 16 and was twice named to the Northeast-10 Conference Weekly Honor Roll during the season, for the weeks ending on Sept. 20 and 27. Levins has been a National Academic Squad selection during both of her seasons in Rindge. She was also named to the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference Team last month.

L’Heureux currently owns a 3.60 grade-point average after two years with the Ravens and is planning to major in biology. She finished the season with one goal and one assist for three points over 14 games. The goal was the first of L’Heureux’s career, and could not have come at a better time for the Ravens, as it proved to be the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Assumption on Sept. 30. She joins Levins and Dolan as second-time NFHCA honorees.

Newman has amassed a 3.68 grade-point average heading into the final semester of her senior year. A constant presence on the backline for the Ravens, she started all 18 games this season and started every game over her final three seasons with Franklin Pierce. Newman earned NFHCA National Academic Squad honors during each of her four years in Rindge.

Nyzio has tallied a 3.56 grade-point average over two semesters at La Salle and one semester at Franklin Pierce. She started 16 games for the Ravens this fall and finished third in the Northeast-10 in both goals-against average (1.42) and save percentage (.744). Nyzio’s Franklin Pierce debut at Assumption on Aug. 31 was also the first start of her collegiate career. She was named Northeast-10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Week after allowing just one goal over two wins during the week ending on Oct. 4. This mark’s the second career academic accolade for Nyzio, who was an Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll selection while at La Salle in 2008.

This fall, the Ravens (9-9, 5-5 Northeast-10) put together the program’s most successful season since the 2003 squad went 9-9 (8-8 Northeast-10). It marks Franklin Pierce’s most successful campaign yet under fourth-year head coach Meighan Guiney.