Liberty Field Hockey lands 18 on BIG EAST All-Academic Team

The Liberty field hockey team features 18 student-athletes on the 2018-19 BIG EAST All-Academic team.

Liberty’s honorees include eight freshmen, five sophomores, three juniors and two seniors. The Lady Flames have featured 58 BIG EAST All-Academic team members in their three seasons in the conference. Six Liberty players – Mallory Fortenbaugh, Merich Frizzell, Kendra Jones, Lindsay Pratt, Annika Roberts and Allison Schaefer – have made the listing each of the past three years.

In total, 136 student-athletes from the league’s field hockey squads were represented on the all-academic team.

To be eligible for this honor, nominees must have competed in a BIG EAST-sponsored sport, attained a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 for the preceding school year and completed a minimum of two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters of academic work, with a total of 18 semester or 27 quarter credits.

The Lady Flames achieved a 3.26 GPA as a program during the 2018-19 academic year.

In addition to its success in the classroom, Liberty had another outstanding campaign on the field, last fall. The Lady Flames finished second in the BIG EAST regular-season standings and at the BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship for a third straight year. The team ended the season at No. 15 in the NCAA Field Hockey RPI and No. 16 in the final national poll.

Overall, 2,938 BIG EAST student-athletes earned all-academic team honors, the highest total in the six years since realignment.

Lady Flames on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team

• Darby Brennan (Fr.)
• Ashley Dykema (So.)
• Mallory Fortenbaugh* (Jr.)
• Merich Frizzell* (R-So.)
• Lizzie Hamlett (Fr.)
• Maddie Hosler (Fr.)
• Kendra Jones* (R-So.)
• Abby Julius (Sr.)
• Alivia Klopp (Fr.)
• Kennedy Luke (R-Fr.)
• Sophie McDonald (Fr.)
• Victoria O’Keeffe (So.)
• Alexis Paone (So.)
• Lindsay Pratt* (Sr.)
• Annika Roberts* (Jr.)
• Allison Schaefer* (Jr.)
• Kira Short (Fr.)
• Charlotte Vaanhold (Fr.)

*Honored on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team each of the last three years