GORHAM, Maine – A week after 13 Huskies earned National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Academic Squad honors, the academic honors continue for the University of Southern Maine Huskies field hockey team as four members of its 2020 squad have been named NFHCA Division III Scholar of Distinction: sophomore Mackenzie Banks (Belfast, Maine), freshman Hannah Banks (Belfast, Maine), freshman Brooke Carson (Woodstock, Maine/Oxford Hills) and freshman Mary Keef (Westbrook, Maine).

            The NFHCA Scholar of Distinction program recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the academic year, while being a member of a Division III field hockey team. The Huskies' four 2020 honorees mark the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh individuals in the eight-year history of the NFHCA's Scholar of Distinction honor, joining former Husky standouts Lindsay Jackson (2015), Casey White (2012) and Abbie Sprague (2018). 

            Banks, Banks, Carson and Keef are four of 450 student-athletes that have been recognized by the NFHCA in Division III.  All four Huskies earned NFHCA All-Academic Squad honors for the 2020 season, and Mackenzie Banks earned the accolade for the second straight year. Banks is a Sports Management major. Mackenzie's sister Hannah, in her first year with the program, has not yet declared an academic major.  Carson is a Business major, while Keef is studying for a degree in Finance.  Carson was a 2019 Maine Field Hockey Association All-State selection in 2019, and Keef was a four-time All-SMAA selection for Westbrook HS.