LHU HOME

	November 5, 2002 LHU Field Hockey Puts Eight on All-PSAC Teams The Haven's Nikki Sweger Earns Rookie of the Year Honors

	(l-r) Jen DeNault, Janelle Ebaugh, Erika Grap, Amy Hale, Courtney Hughes, Kellie Kulina, Melissa Stubblefield, Nikki Sweger
	(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania field hockey team had eight players selected to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) field hockey teams, including four with First Team honors. Freshman forward Nikki Sweger (Dauphin/Central Dauphin East) was honored as the PSAC Rookie of the Year. Four Lady Eagles earned First Team All-PSAC honors, including seniors Erika Grap (Van Etten, N.Y./Spencer-Van Etten) and Amy Hale (Hanover/Southwestern) along with juniors Jen DeNault (Hamburg/Hamburg) and Janelle Ebaugh (Hanover/Littlestown). Second team accolades went to goal keeper Melissa Stubblefield (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel), forwards Kellie Kulina (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin) and Nikki Sweger, and defender Courtney Hughes (Schwenksville/Souderton). Senior forward Erika Grap nabs her third all-conference certificate with this season’s First Team All-PSAC selection. Grap is LHU’s leading scorer with 15 goals and five assists despite missing two games during the middle of the season due to injury. She is currently the conference goals per game leader (0.75) and is second in points per game (1.75). She has posted the game-winning score on four occasions and had her best game of the season in a three-goal, one assist effort in an 8-1 win over Kutztown University. Joining the first unit for the first time is senior midfielder Amy Hale. Hale has notched seven goals and seven assists on the season. She recorded a pair of two-goal games this season, notching the game-winning scores in both for the 3-2 victory over SUNY Cortland and an 8-0 win over Juniata. All-PSAC First Team selection Jen DeNault is another repeat performer after having earning first-team honors in 2001 and a second-team selection the year prior. DeNault helped carry a defense that allows an average of just 0.95 goals per game. A key player in Haven penalty corners, she is also among the conference’s scoring leaders (1.36 ppg) with 11 goals and eight assists. DeNault has three game-winners to her credit and also scored twice in a 3-2 victory over Shippensburg University in the PSAC Semifinals. Janelle Ebaugh makes her second-straight appearance on the First Team All-PSAC list. Ebaugh, a midfielder, is 10^th in the conference in scoring (1.41 ppg) and is fifth in the PSAC with 0.41 assists per game. She has posted 11 goals along with nine assists on the season, including the game-winner in LHU’s first game of the year against UMass-Lowell. Sophomore goal keeper Melissa Stubblefield earns second-team honors in her first season as a starter for the Lady Eagles. Stubblefield is third in the PSAC with a 0.95 goals-against average and has 103 saves along with nine shutouts. Earning her second all-conference selection is sophomore forward Kellie Kulina. Kulina, who had earned first-team honors as a midfielder last year, is a second-team selection. She is the PSAC leader in assists (0.57 apg), registering 12 on the season along with nine goals. Kulina has posted game-highs of three assists on two occasions this season, including a one-goal, three-assist effort in a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst College. Freshman forward Nikki Sweger was named the PSAC Rookie of the Year and also garnered a second-team selection. Sweger and teammate Courtney Hughes were the only freshman to earn an all-conference pick this season. She has 10 goals and eight assists, and has posted the winning goal on four occasions, including a two-goal effort in a 3-2 win over Longwood College and the deciding goal in the conference semifinal win over Shippensburg. Courtney Hughes also makes her inaugural appearance on the All-PSAC list, notching second-team honors as a defender. At 6’1”, Hughes’ possesses a dominant presence in the backfield and has helped LHU to a team goals-against average of 0.95 while also posting 11 team shutouts. She has pushed forward on occasion in penalty corners, scoring three goals and one assist. The Lady Eagles are 18-4 overall and will challenge for their eighth national title (sixth in Division II) as the hosts of the 2002 NCAA Division II National Field Hockey Championship this weekend. Lock Haven will take on Bloomsburg University (19-0) in the semifinal round on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Charlotte Smith Field.
	###LHU###