Feb. 14, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Seven North Carolina student-athletes have been honored with spots on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Field Hockey Team, announced this week by the league. Tar Heels Rachel Dawson, Elizabeth Drazdowski, Riley Foster, Jesse Gey, Heather Kendell, Kiki Norbruis and Brianna O'Donnell were named to the 33-member squad.

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.0 grade point average in the fall semester and maintained a 3.0 cumulative average during her academic career. This is the third year that the ACC has named an academic team, and Kendell has been part of all three lists. Foster, O'Donnell and Dawson all were honored for the second time. The honor is the first for Drazdowski, Gey and Norbruis.

Carolina's total of seven on the list is equal to the most by any team in the league (Boston College and Maryland also had seven each on the team) and makes up more than a quarter of the UNC roster. Six Duke players, four Wake Forest players and two Virginia players round out the squad.

Dawson, a business administration major from Berlin, N.J., earned the Honda Award as the 2007 National Player of the Year and also was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the ACC Tournament MVP as a senior. She graduated with distinction from UNC in December.

Drazdowski, a communication studies major from Mountain Top, Pa., played in all 24 games last season as a redshirt freshman and started 12.

Foster, a nursing major from Fort Worth, Texas, played in every game and started all but three.

Gey, a communication studies major from Green Lane, Pa., joined Dawson as a first-team All-America selection in 2007. She ranked second on the team in goals and assists and totaled 44 points, tied with Dawson for the team high. She also was named All-ACC.

Kendell, a exercise and sport science major from Chapel Hill, played in 22 games and started six as a senior. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honorary society the day after the NCAA Championship game and graduated with distinction in December. She is one of just four players in the ACC named to the academic team in each of the last three years.

Norbruis is a freshman from Zwolle, the Netherlands, and has yet to declare a major. She appeared in 20 games last season, starting six. She is one of three freshmen named to the 2007 All-ACC Academic squad.

O'Donnell, a journalism and mass communication major from Collegeville, Pa., has been the Tar Heels' starting goalkeeper in every game of her career. As a sophomore in 2007, she led the nation with a goals-against average of 0.51.

In addition to achieving academically in the fall of 2007, Carolina enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in program history. The Tar Heels finished 24-0, winning NCAA and ACC championships while setting several team records, including goals scored and total shutouts. They finished the year with a 3-0 win over Penn State in the national championship game Nov. 18 in College Park, Md., to claim the program's fifth national crown.