Franklin Pierce Earns 2002-2003 Northeast-10 Academic Achievement Award
Award College’s first in three Northeast-10 seasons 31 student-athletes named to Commissioner’s Honor Roll 

RINDGE, N.H. (August 18, 2003) – Franklin Pierce has earned the fourth annual Northeast-10 Conference Academic Achievement Award for the 2002-2003 academic year. The announcement was made today by Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner David R. Brunk.

            “I congratulate all of the Franklin Pierce student-athletes on their achievements,” Brunk said. “The Northeast-10 Conference takes pride in its strength academically and Franklin Pierce has worked hard to epitomize the well-rounded student-athletes on our campuses who successfully integrate athletics and academics”

            The award is determined by the Conference’s faculty athletic representatives by calculating the average grade point average for the entire student body of the 15 member institutions during the academic year. That average is compared to the average grade point average of all the student-athletes competing in all the Conference-sanctioned sports. Each respective institution’s academic standing is then determined by subtracting the average grade point average for the entire student body from that determined for the student-athlete population.

            Franklin Pierce edged the University of Massachusetts Lowell and last year’s award winner, Southern New Hampshire University for the honor. Franklin Pierce boasted a 2.991 grade point average among its student-athlete population, which compared against the College’s student body GPA was the largest ratio among the 15 Northeast-10 Conference schools.

The 2002-2003 academic year was a highly successful one on and off the fields of play for Franklin Pierce. The 2003 women’s lacrosse team posted the highest grade point average in Division II this past spring as its 3.268 cumulative GPA earned the program its first Merit Award from the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).

A school-record nine student-athletes earned Verizon/CoSIDA District I Academic All-America honors this past year, including Kelly Henry (Wyoming, R.I./Chariho Regional) who also went on to claim the College’s first Verizon Academic All-America selection since 1998. Henry also served the College as Valedictorian of the Class of 2003, as she graduated with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average.

            The women’s soccer team placed a program-best four student-athletes on the Verizon/CoSIDA District I Academic All-America teams and the volleyball program saw the first two student-athletes in program history achieve Academic All-District honors.

            “This honor is one that I am very proud of and pleased to accept,” said Bruce Kirsh, Vice President and Director of Athletics at the College. “This is a direct reflection of the fine coaches on our staff, an excellent faculty and the outstanding student-athletes that attend Franklin Pierce.”

            Thirty-one Franklin Pierce student-athletes were named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll, also released today. The Honor Roll includes a gold, silver and bronze scholar-athlete list. Each Gold Scholar finished in the top five percent for grade point average among student-athletes at their institution, respectively. Silver Scholars finished in the top six through ten percent and Bronze Scholars placed among the top 11 through 15 percent.

            Franklin Pierce Commissioner’s Honor Roll members are:

GOLD SCHOLARS:
            Kelly Henry, Field Hockey
            Andrea Caesar (Visby, Sweden), Women’s Soccer  
            Rachel Mitchell (Shirley, Mass./Ayer), Cross Country
            Clint Daggan (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis), Baseball
            Elizabeth Allen (Durham, N.H./Oyster River), Women’s Soccer
            Wolfgang Koschnitzki (Eschborn, Germany), Men’s Soccer
            Chris Schwarz (Babenhausen, Germany), Men’s Soccer  
            Michael Fortier (Barre, Vt./Spaulding), Men’s Basketball/Cross Country  
            Catrina Cuevas (Aurora, Colo./James I. O’Neill (N.Y.)), Volleyball  
            David Reid (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth), Golf  
            Jennifer Bulcao (Middletown, R.I./Middletown), Women’s Tennis

SILVER SCHOLARS:  
            Stephanie Bradley (Warrington, Pa./Miller Place (N.Y.)), Field Hockey  
            Zvonko Ilic (Nis, Yugoslavia), Men’s Basketball  
            Jillian Tente (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown), Women’s Soccer  
            Courtney Boardman (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle), Women’s Lacrosse/Field Hockey  
            Martta Makila (Vantaa, Finland), Women’s Soccer  
            Alison Considine (Needham, Mass./Needham), Women’s Soccer
            Andrew Lippincott (Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock), Baseball  
            Bjorgolfor Takefusa (Reykjavik, Iceland), Men’s Soccer  
            Kim Smith (Beverly, Mass./Beverly), Women’s Tennis)  
            Angel Bottomley (Hampton, Va./Hampton), Women’s Lacrosse

BRONZE SCHOLARS:  
            Kent Willingham (Queens, N.Y./McNair Academy), Men’s Basketball/Cross Country  
            Alissa Silverman (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich), Field Hockey/Women’s Lacrosse  
            Patricia Lang (Monroe, N.H./Saint Johnsbury Academy), Women’s Basketball  
            Domenico Roma (Windsor, Ontario/Ste. Annes), Men’s Soccer  
            Tracy Mallette (Bomoseen, Vt./Fairhaven), Women’s Soccer  
            Aase Kibsgaard (Korgen, Norway), Women’s Soccer  
            Robin Drastig (Hofheim, Germany), Men’s Soccer  
            Ellen Plastridge (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield), Women’s Tennis  
            Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland), Women’s Soccer  
            Sara Cheeseman (Chester, Conn./Valley Regional), Field Hockey/Women’s Lacrosse

 The Northeast-10 is one of the largest and most diverse NCAA Division II playing conferences in the nation. It sponsors 23 championship sports including baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s cross country, women’s cross country, football, field hockey, men’s golf, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s indoor track and field, women’s indoor track and field, men’s outdoor track and field, women’s outdoor track and field, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, softball, women’s volleyball, men’s swimming and diving and women’s swimming and diving.

            Members of the Northeast-10 include American International College, Assumption College, Bentley College, Bryant College, Franklin Pierce College, Le Moyne College, The University of Massachusetts Lowell, Merrimack College, Pace University, Saint Anselm College, Saint Michael’s College, The College of Saint Rose, Southern Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University and Stonehill College.             

Questions? Comments?
Contact the Sports Information Office