BENNINGTON, Vt. – The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) released Thursday its Academic All-Conference Team for the fall 2013 semester, and out of the 197 student-athletes who were named to the group, 17 hail from Southern Vermont College.

To be eligible for the NECC Academic All-Conference Team, a student-athlete must post a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.40 on a scale of 4.00 and must be a sophomore or higher in class standings. Student-athletes who competed in men's and women's cross country, men's golf, field hockey, men's and women's soccer,  women's tennis and women's volleyball were eligible for fall NECC academic honors.

Two Mountaineers were named from each of the men’s soccer, men’s cross country and women’s cross country teams while an additional three represented women’s volleyball. The Southern Vermont women’s soccer team saw eight players make their way to the 2013 Academic All-Conference squad.

Of the SVC student-athletes to be recognized, four are doing so for another time in their respective careers: Women’s soccer seniors Kaitlyn Forant (Hardwick, Vt.) and Lindsay Pilling (North Adams, Mass.) along with junior Sam Hastings (Kingston, N.Y.), are being named for the second consecutive year, and this marks the third straight year that senior women’s cross country member Sara Burds (Williston, Vt.) is garnering the laurel.

"Juggling the demands of 'student' and 'athlete' is no easy task at the collegiate level,” commented SVC Director of Athletics Michael McDonough. “But the student-athlete is the core of the mission of NCAA Division III sports. We are especially proud of these Mountaineers who have excelled under the rigor of Business Administration, Nursing, Radiologic Sciences, Psychology, Biological Sciences, History and Politics and the Humanities, leaving a lasting mark on their lives and on SVC."

For a complete conference listing, please visit neccathletics.com.

Southern Vermont Student-Athletes Named to 2013 NECC Academic All-Conference Team

Men’s Cross Country:
Victor Velazquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) – Jr., Business Admin./Management
Cameron Curtiss (Milton, Vt.) – So., Creative Writing

Women’s Cross Country:
Sara Burds (Williston, Vt.) – Sr., Nursing
Haley Omasta (Danbury, Conn.) – So., Business Admin./Management

Men’s Soccer:
Sean Deegan (Seymour, Conn.) – Jr., History & Politics
Chris Dunham (Valley Falls, N.Y.) – So., Business Admin./Sports Management

Women’s Soccer:
Kaitlyn Forant (Hardwick, Vt.) – Sr., Radiologic Sciences
Lindsay Pilling (North Adams, Mass.) – Sr., Business Admin./Management
Sam Hastings (Kingston, N.Y.) - Jr., Radiologic Sciences
Abigail Rosas (Manteca, Calif.) – Jr., Radiologic Sciences
Lixsa Arlet Sandoval (Stockton, Calif.) – Jr., Business Admin./Sports Management
Hattie Brochu (Craftsbury, Vt.) – So., Radiologic Sciences
Rachel Cudo (West Hartford, Conn.) – So., Radiologic Sciences
Katelyn Raymond (Bristol, Conn.) – So., Nursing

Women’s Volleyball
Vanessa Ruelas (Paramount, Calif.) – Sr., Biologic Sciences
Morgan Lauder (Oxford, Conn.) – So., Psychology
Kaitlin McGrath (Montgomery, N.Y.) – So., Nursing