Senior carries 3.85 GPA in management

Northeast-10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award Winners

RINDGE, N.H. (February 8, 2012) – Senior forward Tia Levins (Manchester, Maine), after wrapping up her final season as a member of the Franklin Pierce University field hockey team, has been selected as the recipient of a Northeast-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award, as announced Wednesday by the Conference office.

It is the fifth Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award earned by Franklin Pierce student-athletes, in just the award's third year. Previous Ravens honorees include: Derek Ingui '11 (baseball, spring 2011); Tom Reilly (men's soccer, fall 2010); Johannah Leedham '10 (women's basketball, winter 2009-10); and Angelika Johansson (women's soccer, fall 2009).

The Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence awards are chosen by a committee of athletic administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives. The Northeast-10 honors one student-athlete per conference-sponsored sport each year, based on a combination of academic and athletic criteria.

To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award, a student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment at their current institution and at least two years of athletic eligibility at any institution. In addition, the student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.30.

Levins, who has a 3.85 grade-point average in management through seven semesters, tied for ninth in the nation in goals per game (0.89) and ranked 14th in points per game (1.89) this fall. In addition, she finished third in the Northeast-10 in goals (17) and sixth in both points (36) and shots on goal (45). She also tied for the Conference lead in game-winning goals (6). In 2011, Levins established new Franklin Pierce records for career goals (34), career points (73), single-season goals (17) and single-season points (36).

It is not the first academic award for Levins, who was named to the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference team just last week. It was her third Academic All-Conference honor, and she is also a three-time (soon-to-be four-time) selection to the NFHCA All-Academic Squad. On the field this fall, Levins was an All-Northeast-10 First Team selection, her second All-Conference accolade after being named to the Second Team in 2010. She was also selected to participate in the NFHCA North/South Senior Game.

Franklin Pierce finished the 2011 season 10-9 (7-3 Northeast-10) and in third place in the Northeast-10, the highest finish in program annals. It was the second time the team finished above .500 overall, joining an 11-7 campaign in 2000. By winning percentage, the 7-3 (.700) Northeast-10 record trailed only 2000's record of 7-2 (.778).

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).