Moon Township, Pa. - For the sixth-consecutive season, the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association has honored the Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team with its 2012 Division I Academic Squad award while five members of the Colonials program were named to the 2011 Academic Honor Roll.

"I am very excited to have been named an Academic Merit Team again.”  Robert Morris head women's lacrosse coach Katy Phillips said.  “Academics are a top priority in our program and continue to be a focus point for our student-athletes."

To be eligible for the IWLCA Academic Squad award, teams must record a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Robert Morris, which has earned the IWLCA honor every year since 2007, was one of 46 schools to earn the accolade.

The squad achieved a 3.398 GPA which was the top mark for women's lacrosse in the Northeast Conference and helped Robert Morris University Athletics earn the NEC institutional Academic Award with a 3.279 GPA.

In addition to the Academic Squad award, Robert Morris' featured five lacrosse players named to the 2012 Academic Honor Roll -- out of 171 total Division I student-athletes to earn distinction for their work in the classroom. Nursing major Emily Carlo (Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley), sports management major Angelina Gasparo (Philadelphia, Pa. / Nazareth Academy), communications major Colleen O'Donnell (Portland, Ore. / St. Mary's Academy), management major Jennifer Schulze (Bel Air, Md. / C. Milton Wright), and nursing major Tara Southworth (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) represented the Colonials on this year's Academic Honor Roll.