Sweet Briar, VA—For the second consecutive year, Sweet Briar College received National Academic Team honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The Vixens posted a team GPA for Fall 2004 above 3.0, one of five Old Dominion Athletic Conference teams to be honored. The team rankings were instituted for the first year in 2003.

Six Sweet Briar student-athletes were named to the National Academic Squad by the NFHCA, with two seniors earning national honors for the fourth time. Elizabeth Farnsworth '05 (Grafton, MA/Grafton HS) and Susanna Knouse '05 (Washington, DC/Fort Worth Country Day School) became the first Sweet Briar field hockey athletes to maintain a 3.2 or higher GPA throughout their careers. They were joined on this year's squad by classmate Ginger Tripp (Richmond, VA/Saint Catherine's) and three first year athletes, Alex DiFeliceantonio (Wilmington, NC/Amy Bradley HS), Ashley Figueiredo (Westfield, MA/MacDuffie) and Leha Andres (Charlestown, RI/Valley HS).

Since the NFHCA began individual National Academic Awards in 1987, 28 Sweet Briar field hockey players have been honored a total of 47 times. This fall marks the seventeenth consecutive year that one or more Vixens earned National Squad recognition.