Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/66107
Sports • cmuchippewas.com Field hockey earns academic honors The CMU field hockey program recently was recognized at the national level for its excellence in the classroom, receiving the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Academic Team Award. The Chippewas posted the highest grade point average (3.48) among the nation's public universities and ranked higher than all but three NCAA Division I teams, placing slightly behind private institutions American (3.49), Drexel (3.51) and Northwestern (3.54). The 2010 season marked the second time in three years that CMU has ranked in the top five nationally in team GPA. The NFHCA also named 14 Chippewas to its Division I National Academic Squad. CMU's 14 honorees were the most of any Mid-American Conference program. • Making history From the first women's basketball game in the new McGuirk Arena to CMU's first appearance in the WNIT, the 2010-11 season will be remembered as one of the program's most successful campaigns. The year began with dominating victories against North Carolina A&T and Belmont in the Winthrop Tournament (119-71 and 102-71, respectively) and it closed with the Chippewas posting 20 victories for just the fourth time in program history and making their third postseason appearance, a date with Illinois State in the first round of the WNIT. In between, Kaihla Szunko punctuated one of the most successful careers in Mid-American Conference history, and fourth-year head coach Sue Guevara established her program as a force to be reckoned with in the MAC. The Chippewas rode the nation's third-highest- scoring offense (80.5 points per game) to their first appearance in the MAC Tournament semifinals since 1992. CMU's 20 wins overall were the most since the 1990-91 team posted 21 wins. Szunko closed out her career as the only player in MAC history with 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 steals. Her 1,009 career rebounds are the sixth most in school history. In CMU's record books, Szunko ranks ninth in points (1,292), third in rebounds (1,009), third in steals (233) and sixth in blocked shots (80). Szunko also is a standout in the classroom, capping her senior season with Academic All-America second-team accolades. • 30 centralight summer '11 Kaihla Szunko