For Immediate Release
January 12, 2011
Courtesy of The College of Saint Rose Sports Information Department
Albany, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose has shown that it is as formidable in the classroom as it is on the pitch.
One after month after closing out a 23-1-1 campaign that included its third straight NCAA Tournament national semifinals appearance and its fourth consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship, Saint Rose garnered its tenth consecutive NSCAA Team Academic Award for having a collective GPA above a 3.00 throughout the previous academic year. Additionally, five Saint Rose student-athletes were recognized for standing out both academically and athletically.
The Golden Knights were furthermore one of only four teams from throughout the country (All Divisions) to have three players selected to the NSCAA Scholar All-America Team. Marquette, Northern Arizona and Trinity (TX) were the lone other schools to have three players honored; while NCAA Division III national champion Hardin-Simmons had the greatest representation with four student-athletes recognized.
Individually, senior backs Kelly Guerin (Sutton, Mass./Sutton) andKatie Whiting (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional) earned first-team Scholar All-America accolades for the second consecutive year, while junior midfielder Christina Cuffari (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) garnered second-team honors.
Furthermore, senior back Coco Ebersole (Fort Collins, Co./Poudre) and junior forward Nicola D'Errico (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) were named second-team and third-team Scholar All-East Region picks respectively.
Guerin, Whiting and Ebersole helped anchor a defensive unit that finished second in the country among NCAA Division II schools with a 0.32 goals-against-average on the strength of 17 shutouts. Guerin is a biology major who carries 3.93 GPA, Whiting boasts a 3.66 GPA as a communication sciences and disorders major, while Ebersole is also a biology major who owns a 3.77 GPA.
Offensively, Cuffari led a balanced Saint Rose attack that featured 18 different players who figured in the scoring column. She finished with 35 points on 10 goals and 15 assists, while D'Errico closed out the year with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Four of her seven strikes were game-winners. Cuffari maintains a 3.75 GPA as a business administration major. D'Errico is a communications major who carries a 3.35 GPA.
