GREENWOOD, Ind. -- Four members of the Christopher Newport field hockey team earned Academic All-District accolades, which were announced by the College Sports Communicators on Tuesday afternoon.

Caroline Hughlett and Courtney Hughlett received the recognition for the second straight year, joining former standouts Katie Abendschoen and Abby Asuncion as the only multi-time honorees in program history. Meanwhile, fellow juniors Kendall Gibson and Lindsey Loar were both celebrated for the first time.

Overall, the four recipients equaled the most in school history, tying the award-winning contingent from last year's squad.

In order to be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA while serving as a starter or key reserve. The All-District honor is the prerequisite for All-American accolades, which will be voted on by a national committee later this month.

Founded in 1952, the CSC (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-American program recognizes standouts from all sports across all divisions of the NCAA. There are over 20,000 total nominations every year with fewer than 10 percent of those student-athletes receiving the nation's highest academic honor.

A defensive dynamo, Gibson helped anchor the back line while earning All-Region accolades for her performance. A starter in all 20 games, she registered a pair of defensive saves after turning away on-target rips in 1-0 victories over Washington and Lee on September 7 and Messiah on September 20. She also blocked six additional shots during the season, including a pair of fourth-quarter deflections in a win over No. 5 Johns Hopkins on August 31.

Making a consistent impact, Gibson played at least 60 minutes in nine of her appearances, including all three games during the NCAA Tournament. Aided by those efforts, the communications major helped Christopher Newport rank first in the nation in scoring defense with a 0.39 goals-against-average. That also marked the ninth-finest rate in Division III history.

Honored as a first-team All-American, Caroline Hughlett was an electric contributor throughout her third year with the Captains. During the fall, she scored seven goals and established a new career-high with nine assists. Among her highlights, she sank three game-winning tallies during the year, including the double-overtime clincher with 0.1 seconds left on the clock during a 2-1 triumph against No. 3 Salisbury on October 8.

In addition to her award-winning work on the field, Hughlett was equally successful in the classroom. Hauling in honors for her performance as an accounting major, she was hailed as the NFHCA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year while becoming the first Captain to be a three-time Scholar of Distinction honoree.

Establishing herself as one of the finest field hockey players in the nation, Courtney Hughlett was a consensus first-team All-American and the Synapse Sports National Defensive Player of the Year. Also recognized as the NFHCA Region VI Player of the Year, she established a new school record with 15 assists while chipping in with six goals. Tormenting top-flight competition, she posted 13 of her points against nationally-ranked foes.

Dominating in the postseason, Hughlett earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team after assisting on both goals, including the overtime clincher, during a 2-1 win over No. 17 Lynchburg on November 15. Additionally, the kinesiology major led the Captains with 10 blocked shots during the season, including six as a member of the penalty corner defense.

One of the country's most electric offensive contributors, Loar secured All-American accolades for her performance in the fall. Along the way, the junior paced CNU with 14 goals, which equaled the eighth-highest total in program history. Notching multiple points in 10 of her 20 appearances, she became just the sixth Captain to record multiple hat-tricks in a single season after posting outbursts against Rhodes on October 5 and No. 14 Rowan on October 25.

Among her heroics, Loar landed five game-winning goals, which marked the third-highest total in program history. Her crowning moment came in the playoffs when she punctuated the overtime victory against No. 17 Lynchburg in the 63rd minute on November 15. For that work, the psychology major was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

Led by the efforts of the award-winning crew, CNU advanced to the Final Four for the second time in school history while finishing with a 19-1 record.

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