Student Athletes Garner National Academic Recognition

Cross country runners run through a wooded area with UAlbany XC Invitational bibs on their shirts.
Tess Fitzmaurice was the highest-placing finisher on the UAlbany cross country team this season at the NCAA Northeast Regional XC Championships, placing 64th overall in 21:51.0. (Photo by Jay Bendlin/UAlbany Athletics)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Feb. 21, 2023) — The UAlbany men's and women's cross country programs each earned team academic honors from the U.S. Track, Field, and Cross Country Coaches Association, while three members of the field hockey team have been named Scholars of Distinction by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).

The men’s cross country team recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.24 through the latest fall semester.  The women's GPA was 3.17.  In order to qualify for the team academic award, a team must record a collective GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

A total of 216 men's teams and 249 women's teams earned team academic accolades for the 2022 season.  For the third straight season, national champion Northern Arizona was named Men's Scholar Team of the Year, posting a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Vanderbilt recorded a 3.77 GPA to lead all men's teams.

The women’s cross country team wrapped up its season on Nov. 11 at the NCAA Northeast Regional XC Championships, where they finished in 19th place. Both teams competed in the IC4A & ECAC XC Championships in October, where the women finished 13th and the men came home in 22nd.

A collage of field hockey players for UAlbany.
From left, UAlbany Field Hockey players Floor de Ruiter, Lara Behn and Chiara Calicchia were honored as Scholars of Distinction.

The Scholars of Distinction program recognizes field hockey student athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2022-23 academic year.

For the second year in a row, sophomores Lara Behn and Floor de Ruiter were honored while junior transfer Chiara Calicchia notched her first award.

Two Division I academic awards remain to be announced — the NFHCA National Academic Team awards Tuesday and the NFHCA National Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday.

De Ruiter, a midfield/forward from Noordwick, Holland, started 17 games for the Great Danes, recording five goals, including one against Michigan in a 2-1 upset victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Calicchia, from Düsseldorf, Germany, played in 20 of 21 games for the Great Danes, recording an assist in an 8-1 victory over Colgate. Behn, a goalkeeper from Hamburg, Germany, played in four games backing up senior star Hannah Mangan of Dublin, Ireland. She started in a 5-2 victory over Northeastern and a 3-0 defeat against perennial power Ohio State.