If after posting a 15-6 record, a trip to the NCAC championship and having ten players reach the 2012 NFHCA Division III National Academic Squad wasn’t enough last year, the Denison women’s field hockey team was also heavily praised by a new organization, the APCA, who ranked them #10 out of 199 schools.

The APCA, Association for the Protection of Collegiate Athletes, is an organization dedicated to helping athletes in many facets of college life.

“The APCA is a new non-profit organization charged with helping create a more transparent, informed, and safe environment for all student athletes that participate in collegiate sports,” Mike McGuiness, President of APCA, said.

And after being ranked against all other 198 teams in Division III, the Denison Big Red Women notched tenth place in last year’s respective rankings.

Essentially what this means is that the Big Red ladies not only excelled on the field, but in the locker rooms and in the classrooms as well-giving Denison the advantage for prospective high school athletes who may be looking for highly ranked programs in not just the record books.

“The formula is based on a comparison of athletic success, academic progress, and the treatment of athletes,” said McGuiness. “Our programs and studies are designed to help student athletes choose the best school for their interests and needs, understand the rights and obligations they have when playing a sport in college, and further assist with their transition into the professional world – either as a professional athlete or otherwise.”

This year, the Denison Women have continued their success with a 6-1 record and face Kenyon tomorrow in Granville for a conference match-up between rivals.