University of North Carolina Athletics
Matson Leads Seven Tar Heels On FH All-ACC Academic Team
January 24, 2022 | Field Hockey, Academics
Seven Tar Heels have been named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Academic Team and senior Erin Matson has been selected ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, the ACC announced Monday.
Katie Dixon, Hannah Griggs, Meredith Sholder, Kelly Smith, Eva Smolenaars and Cassie Sumfest joined Matson on the All-ACC Academic Team.
Matson shares Scholar-Athlete honors with Louisville's Alli Bitting. Matson was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year while Bitting was the Defensive Player of the Year.
Matson, a media & journalism major who was named to the All-Academic Team for the fourth time, is the fourth UNC field hockey player to earn the honor following Rachel Dawson (2007), Loren Shealy (2013) and Emma Bozek (2016). A four-time first-team All-America selection from Chadds Ford, Pa., Matson is the all-time ACC leader in career goals scored with 109. Despite missing three full games due to injury in 2021, Matson led the nation in both goals (27) and total points (64) by a significant margin. She was named MVP of the 2021 ACC Field Hockey Championship after setting a tournament scoring record with 14 points in three games.
Dixon is a sophomore from Cary, N.C., and is majoring in statistics & analytics.
Griggs is a senior from Faversham, England, and is majoring in exercise & sport science.
Sholder is a senior from Alburtis, Pa., and is majoring in biology.
Smith is a freshman from Downingtown, Pa., and is majoring in exercise and sport science.
Smolenaars is a senior from Weert, the Netherlands, and is majoring in media & journalism.
Sumfest is a graduate student from Lewisburg, Pa., and majored in business administration.
Each of the ACC's seven field hockey programs is represented by multiple selections to the 2021 All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team. That includes a league-record 21 student-athletes that also earned All-ACC honors. In addition, 12 members of this year's All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team were also NFHCA All-Americans, and 24 were named NFHCA All-Region.
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0-grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0-grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.
For the full list honorees, click here.
Katie Dixon, Hannah Griggs, Meredith Sholder, Kelly Smith, Eva Smolenaars and Cassie Sumfest joined Matson on the All-ACC Academic Team.
Matson shares Scholar-Athlete honors with Louisville's Alli Bitting. Matson was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year while Bitting was the Defensive Player of the Year.
Matson, a media & journalism major who was named to the All-Academic Team for the fourth time, is the fourth UNC field hockey player to earn the honor following Rachel Dawson (2007), Loren Shealy (2013) and Emma Bozek (2016). A four-time first-team All-America selection from Chadds Ford, Pa., Matson is the all-time ACC leader in career goals scored with 109. Despite missing three full games due to injury in 2021, Matson led the nation in both goals (27) and total points (64) by a significant margin. She was named MVP of the 2021 ACC Field Hockey Championship after setting a tournament scoring record with 14 points in three games.
She's a ⭐️ on the field and off of it!
Congrats to @erinmatsonn on earning @ACCFieldHockey Scholar-Athlete recognition📚💻🏑 She's the 4th Tar Heel honored, following @emmabozek in '16, @lsheals in '13, @racheldawson8 in '07#GoHeels x #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/FD64vjPjab
— UNC Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) January 24, 2022
Dixon is a sophomore from Cary, N.C., and is majoring in statistics & analytics.
Griggs is a senior from Faversham, England, and is majoring in exercise & sport science.
Sholder is a senior from Alburtis, Pa., and is majoring in biology.
Smith is a freshman from Downingtown, Pa., and is majoring in exercise and sport science.
Smolenaars is a senior from Weert, the Netherlands, and is majoring in media & journalism.
Sumfest is a graduate student from Lewisburg, Pa., and majored in business administration.
Each of the ACC's seven field hockey programs is represented by multiple selections to the 2021 All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team. That includes a league-record 21 student-athletes that also earned All-ACC honors. In addition, 12 members of this year's All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team were also NFHCA All-Americans, and 24 were named NFHCA All-Region.
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0-grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0-grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.
For the full list honorees, click here.
Players Mentioned
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