Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's hockey team earned votes in the latest United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine national rankings as announced in an organizational release Monday and Tuesday.

The acknowledgement on the national scene comes just two days after Colonials earned their first program sweep of No. 4 Mercyhurst. Not only was it the first sweep of Merychurst, but it also marked the first time in program history that RMU has swept an opponent in the national top-ten.

It marks the first time since January 2012 that RMU claimed votes in the weekly USCHO poll, which is almost exclusively voted upon by bead coaches throughout the country. USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the four NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.

Robert Morris ranks among the top-13 nationally in scoring offense (3.00 goals per game), scoring defense (2.00 goals per game), scoring margin (1.00), combined special teams (52.9 percent) and team winning percentage (.725 percent). Most impressively, the Colonial penalty kill unit ranks third nationally with a kill percentage of 91.7.  

Robert Morris currently owns a two-game win streak as it heads into the second half of the season. 

The Colonials are led by reigning College Hockey America (CHA) Player of the Week sophomore forward Rebecca Vint (Caledon, Ontario / Brampton Jr. Thunder) and CHA Goaltender of the week senior Kristen DiCiocco (Niagara Falls, Ontario / Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres). Vint leads RMU with 20 points so far this season, an even ten goals and ten assists.  DiCiocco owns a .926 save percentage with a 2.06 goals against average. The senior has registered an 8-3-2 record with 323 saves thus far this season.

The sweep of No. 4 Mercyhurst moves the Colonials' overall record to 9-3-2 with a 5-1-0 league record.

Robert Morris will take a few weeks off from game action for the holiday season before returning to play Fri., January 4^th and Sat., January 5^th at the RMU Island Sports Center as the Colonials welcome CHA member RIT. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. Friday and 2:05 p.m. on Saturday.