UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State field hockey team, under the direction of head coach Charlene Morett, has been recognized by Gladiatior and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association for sporting a team GPA above 3.0. In addition, the Nittany Lions had nine players named to the Gladiator Division I National Academic Squad.
Sophomore Annie Abdo, junior Kelsey Amy, freshman Katie Breneman, freshman Amanda Dinunzio, sophomore Abby Fuhrman, junior Ayla Halus, freshman Taylor Herold and sophomore Lauren Purvis all earned national honors. Abdo, Amy, Halus and Purvis have each been named to the team multiple times.
The award joins a growing list of academic honors for Penn State. Earlier in the year, Abdo, Amy, Fuhrman, Halus and Purvis were additionally named to the Academic All-Big Ten team along with sophomore Brittany Grzywacz, sophomore Jacqueline Kenney, senior Casey McCartin, sophomore Whitney Reddig and senior Alex Schlener.
In addition to their success in the classroom, the 14 standout student-athletes also served as the core to Penn State’s incredible success on the field last season. For the first time since 1998, Penn State was crowned the Big Ten Tournament champions, after defeating the Michigan Wolverines on Nov. 6 in the tournament championship game. The Big Ten champion Nittany Lions finished the season with a 17-6 overall record and also earned an NCAA First Round victory over the Northeastern Huskies.