MANAHAWKIN, New Jersey - For the second season in a row, the American International College field hockey team has been lauded for academic success, earning the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Team Academic Award and securing the top team grade-point average among all NCAA Division II field hockey programs, the organization announced on Tuesday, February 18.

Click here for the full NFHCA release.

Only 13 teams in total earned the Team Academic Award at the NCAA Division II level, which "is granted to programs that have achieved an exceptional team grade-point average of 3.5 or higher during the fall semester of the current academic year." Additionally, the NFHCA releases the top three teams by GPA, which AIC led once again with a 3.76. 

AIC has led the nation in grade point average in both seasons that Kylie Gargiulo has been a member of the team's coaching staff; with Gargiulo as an assistant under Rhonwen Peters '11, AIC field hockey topped the country with a 3.73 GPA in 2023. 

Of the 13 teams to be honored in total by the NFHCA, more than half came from the Northeast-10 Conference. In addition to the Yellow Jackets, Adelphi University, Franklin Pierce University, Mercy University, Pace University, Southern Connecticut State University, and the University of New Haven were recognized.