5 Hawkeyes Earn NFHCA Academic Honors

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Five University of Iowa field hockey student-athletes have been named to the 2016 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division I National Academic Squad, the NFHCA announced on Tuesday.

The National Academic Squad recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2015-16 academic year.

All letterwinners from the 2015 season, Iowa’s five honorees include junior Alexandra Pecora, sophomores JoElla Guagliardo, Taylor Omweg, and Melissa Progar, and freshman Riley Kniptash. Guagliardo, Omweg, and Progar have each earned NFHCA Division I National Academic Squad honors for the second consecutive year, while Pecora and Kniptish are both first-time recipients.

On the field, Iowa’s five honorees combined to appear in 86 games, while notching 68 starts this past season. Guagliardo led all five recipients with three goals, while Progar was second on the team and ranked eighth in the Big Ten in assists with 10. Pecora started every game for the Hawkeyes in 2015, logging 1,322:02 minutes at goal and tallying 88 saves.