DANBURY, Conn. – The Eastern College Athletic Conference recently announced the National Invitational Rowing Championship (NIRC) Stewards All-Academic Team and four Mount Holyoke College student-athletes have been named to this year's team. A total of 321 student-athletes from 24 institutions earned the distinction for the 2014-15 academic year.
Representing the Lyons on this year's team were senior captain Hannah Arbach (Springfield, Va./Lake Braddock), senior Katelyn Joyal (Belmont, Mass./Belmont), junior Chenyue Lu (Xiangtan, China/Hunan Normal University HS) and sophomore Meghan Ryan (West Point, N.Y./James I. O'Neill).
During the 2014-15 campaign, the Lyons rowing team, under the direction of first-year head coach Heather Putnam, had a number of solid outings. The squad finished seventh overall at the NEWMAC Championships, while also placing 16th and 18th at the New England Rowing Championships and ECAC Championships, respectively.
Individually, a number of student-athletes were recognized during the season, including Arbach and sophomore Molly Lapointe (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy), who were All-NEWMAC Varsity Second Team selections. Junior Rosalind Waltz-Peters (Rutland, Mass./Wachusett Regional) and Lapointe were also named to the All-Seven Sisters Varsity Team, while first year Kimberly Ho (Walnut Creek, Calif. / Acalanes) was an All-Seven Sisters Novice Team selection.
Academically, Arbach, Joyal, Lu and Ryan, along with sophomores Briana Chace (Richmond, R.I./The Greene School), Azulina Green (Austin, Texas/Gurza High School), Tristan Strange (Easthampton, Mass./Greenfield Community College) and Leela Woody (Exeter, N.H./Phillips Exeter Academy) were named to the NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team, while Arbach and Joyal were Seven Sisters Scholar Athlete selections.
To receive Stewards All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. A transfer student must have completed one year of study at the institution.
