University of Richmond Athletics
Cram, Russell And Swartz Receive Academic All-America Honors
02/24/2005 | Field Hockey
Feb. 24, 2005
Complete NFHCA All-Academic Team Release in PDF Format
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Juniors Holly Cram, Lesley Russell and Michelle Swartz of the Richmond Field Hockey team were all named to the National All-Academic squad earlier this week by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. To be considered for the honor student-athletes must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2004-05 academic year.
Cram earned Richmond's fourth-consecutive A-10 Offensive Player of the Year honor prior to the Atlantic 10 Championships this season. She finished up 2004 ranked tied for third in the nation in points (67) and second among the nation's leaders in points per game (3.19). The Glasgow, Scotland, native ended the season as Richmond's single-season leader in goals and points after topping Dawn Reyerson's marks from 1993 in both categories. The junior also finished atop seven offensive categories in the Atlantic 10 and ranked fourth among the national leaders in goals (29) and third in goals per game (1.38).
Russell started every match for the Spiders at middle back in 2004. She led a defensive effort for Richmond which limited opponents to only 16 goals on 135 shots, including just three goals on 29 shots during A-10 Conference play.
Swartz earned the Atlantic 10 Conference Field Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year award following arguably the best campaign of her three-year career. The Severna Park, Md., native finished the season with a school record 11 shutouts in 21 games. The previous Spider mark for single-season shutouts was nine, set by Swartz as a freshman. The keeper ranked third in the nation and led the A-10 with a goals-against average of 0.73. Her .805 save percentage also was among the nation's best at 13th. She did not allow more than two goals in a total of 20 contests, and was the backbone for Richmond's defensive unit which limited opponents to just 16 goals on 135 shots, including just three goals on 29 shots during conference play.
The Spiders have already begun preparation for the 2005 fall season. Head coach Ange Bradley's squad is in the midst of its 2004 spring season and is scheduled to take on Old Dominion March 26 at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.
