GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Louisville senior midfielder Alli Bitting and North Carolina senior forward Erin Matson have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Scholar-Athletes of the Year and lead the sport’s All-ACC Academic Team announced Monday.
Bitting earned 2021 ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Matson became the second four-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year in league history.
A three-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-American, Bitting earned her degree in sport administration in December. The Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, native was a first-team NFHCA All-American this past season after being named to the second team in 2019 and 2020. Bitting proved a mainstay for a Louisville team that allowed just 18 goals in 20 games (an ACC-leading 0.9 goals allowed per contest) while posting seven shutouts. She also registered three goals and dished out three assists.
Academically, Bitting was named to the Dean’s List and AD Honor Roll every semester she attended Louisville and is a four-time ACC Honor Roll selection.
Matson, a four-time NFHCA first-team All-American who hails from Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, is the all-time ACC leader in career goals scored with 109. Despite missing three full games due to injury in 2021, Matson led the nation in both goals (27) and total points (64) by a significant margin. Matson was named the NFHCA National Player of the Week three times in the fall of 2021 and earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors on three occasions. She was named MVP of the 2021 ACC Field Hockey Championship after setting a tournament scoring record with 14 points in three games.
A media and journalism major, Matson has earned multiple selections to both the UNC Dean’s List and ACC Honor Roll.
Each of the ACC’s seven field hockey programs is represented by multiple selections to the 2021 All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team. That includes a league-record 21 student-athletes that also earned All-ACC honors. In addition, 12 members of this year’s All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team were also NFHCA All-Americans, and 24 were named NFHCA All-Region.
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were established in September of 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the awards must have maintained a 3.0-grade point average for their careers, as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0-grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.
2021 ACC Field Hockey Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Alli Bitting, Louisville
Erin Matson, North Carolina
2021 All-ACC Field Hockey Academic Team
Sky Caron, Boston College, Sr., Management
Fusine Govaert, Boston College, Gr., Leadership & Administration
Sarah Johnson, Boston College, Gr., Healthcare Administration
Jonna Kennedy, Boston College, Sr., Applied Psych & Human Development
Jaime Natale, Boston College, Gr., Communications
Elizabeth Warner, Boston College, Gr., Arts & Sciences
Logan Clouser, Duke, Fr., Undeclared
Leah Crouse, Duke, Sr., Biology
Lexi Davidson, Duke, Gr., Management Studies
Hannah Miller, Duke. Jr., Environmental Sci/Policy
MaryKate Neff, Duke, Gr., Management Studies
Alli Bitting, Louisville, Sr., Sport Administration
Erica Cooper, Louisville, Sr., Criminal Justice
Mila DeKuijer, Louisville, Fr., Finance
Julie Kouijzer, Louisville, Jr., Marketing
Aimee Plumb, Louisville, So., Psychology
Kathryn Schneider, Louisville, Sr., Communications
Mattie Tabor, Louisville, Jr., Communications
Katie Dixon, North Carolina, So., Statistics & Analytics
Hannah Griggs, North Carolina, Sr., Exercise & Sport Science
Erin Matson, North Carolina, Sr., Media & Journalism
Meredith Sholder, North Carolina, Sr., Biology
Kelly Smith, North Carolina, Fr., Exercise & Sport Science
Eva Smolenaars, North Carolina, Sr., Media & Journalism
Cassie Sumfest, North Carolina, Gr., Business Administration
Hailey Bitters, Syracuse, Jr., Nutrition
Brooke Borzymowski, Syracuse, Fr., Undeclared
Quirine Comans, Syracuse, Gr., Law
Claire Cooke, Syracuse, Gr., Speech-Language Pathology
Carolin Hoffmann, Syracuse, Gr., Economics
Pleun Lammers, Syracuse, Jr., Psychology
Eefke Van Den Nieurwenhof, Syracuse, So., Undeclared
Amber Ezechiels, Virginia, Sr., Economics
Makayla Gallen, Virginia, Gr., Undeclared
Laura Janssen, Virginia, Jr., Psychology
Tyler Kennedy, Virginia, Fr., Undeclared
Annie McDonough, Virginia, Sr., Inter-Cognitive Science
Rachel Robinson, Virginia, Gr., Kinesiology
Grace Delmotte, Wake Forest, So., Undeclared
Maggie Dickman, Wake Forest, Jr., Communications
Elisha Evans, Wake Forest, Gr., Management
Nat Friedman, Wake Forest, Jr., Business & Enterprise
Meike Lanckohr, Wake Forest, Jr., Economics
Hannah Maxwell, Wake Forest, Jr., Health & Exercise Science
Laia Vancells, Wake Forest, Sr., Biochemistry & French