COLCHESTER, Vt. - Ten members of the Saint Michael's College field hockey team qualified for the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Collegiate Division II National Academic Squad for this past fall, all registering the minimum 3.50 semester grade-point average necessary to land the accolade.
 
The accolade, which previously required a 3.30 term GPA until last year, was earned by at least nine Purple Knights for the 14th straight season. Saint Michael's tied Assumption University and Southern New Hampshire University for seventh among 14 programs in the Northeast-10 Conference with its 10 selections. Purple Knights have now landed the honor 295 times during head coach Carla Hesler's 25 seasons guiding the program.
 
Seniors Paige Brooks (Walpole, Mass./Walpole), Bridgie Loughlin (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), Samantha Shapiro (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and Courtney Watt (Auckland, New Zealand/Albany Senior/Vermont) all earned their fourth career honor, with Watt claiming her second as a Purple Knight.
 
Senior Mia Gardner (Smithfield, R.I./Saint George's School) and juniors Morgan Cathcart (Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield) and Anna Comiskey (Highgate, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union/VTSU Castleton) nabbed their third career laurels, with Comiskey landing her second as a Purple Knight. Junior Abby Farrington (Bennington, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) and sophomore Kathleen Dean (Auburn, Maine/Saint Dominic Academy) both qualified for the second time, and junior Allie Medeiros (East Greenwich, R.I./Saint Mary Academy - Bay View) landed her initial accolade.