Wellesley's Gruet Named DIII Woman of the Year Nominee for Field Hockey

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College field hockey senior Nathalie Gruet has been named the 2014 DIII Woman of the Year nominee for field hockey as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

Gruet is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious Honda DIII Woman Athlete of the Year honor. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 39th year.

Gruet was named to the Longstreth/NFHCA first-team for the second consecutive season, becoming the first back-to-back All-American for the program since 2002. The 2014 and 2013 NFHCA New England East Region and New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Player of the Year, she also earned NFHCA first-team All-Region honors for the third straight season in 2014. She was also selected to the NEWMAC first-team for the fourth consecutive season after registering a team-leading 53 points on 21 goals and 11 assists this season. 

The Acton, Mass., native finished her career with 147 points, scoring 63 goals and 21 assists in 83 games.

"It is a huge honor to be nominated for this prestigious award," stated Gruet. "I am extremely appreciative of the depth, breadth, and challenge (both academically and athletically) that being a student-athlete at Wellesley College and in Division III athletics have provided me. I am humbled by this honor since my success and participation in and out of the classroom and community cannot be attributed to just myself. Rather, it is a reflection of the powerful network of support and encouragement that I have from my coaches, teammates, professors, friends, and family. For that reason, I am incredibly proud of the opportunity to represent this community."

"I am thrilled that Nathalie has been selected as a Division III nominee for Athlete of the Year," said head coach Julia King. "While she would be the first to attribute her success to the support of her teammates, she is an extraordinary example to them, both on and off the field, and should be proud of all that she has accomplished in her collegiate career. Nathalie is an incredibly deserving recipient of this honor and a wonderful representative of Wellesley College and Division III field hockey."

All sports nominees from DIII and DII become a finalist for the prestigious 2015 Honda Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in June. The sports nominees are recognized in 11 DIII and DII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer,softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for 38 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.   Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $2.8 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.

To view the release on the official website of the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards, Click Here