GILBERT, Ariz. --- The Cedar Crest College Field Hockey Program had nine student-athletes receive spots on the 2018 Zag Field Hockey / National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Academic Squad, announced on Wednesday morning.
 
The Division III National Academic Squad program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 or higher through the first semester of the 2018-19 academic year.
 
The nine Falcons that have received this honor are:
Deserea Dayton (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff), Brenna Desborough (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan ), Maia Giafes (Elkton, Mary./Elkton High), Samantha Johnson (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley), Makenzie Kistler (Walnutport, Pa./Northampton), Mercedes Melo (Lehighton, Pa./Palmerton Area), Cassandra Reijgers (Hollis, N.H./Hollis Brookline), Serena Shuler (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) and Autumn Wilhide (York, Pa./Northeastern).
 
These nine Falcons join a list of 1,746 student-athletes from 147 Division III institutions who earned recognition on the 2018 Zag Field Hockey / NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad. To see the full list of Division III National Academic Squad honorees, click here. Honorees are arranged alphabetically by school. Student-athletes who have earned National Academic Squad recognition for all four years of their collegiate career have been marked with an asterisk. To see past award winners, click here.
 
Last week the NFHCA announced the Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division III National Academic Team Award. Two Division III academic awards remain to be announced — the Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Scholars of Distinction will be named on March 27 and the Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA National Scholar-Athlete on April 3.