Alaina McVeigh, a Duke field hockey sophomore, has earned yet another honor.The Blue Devil forward was named the 2023 NFHCA Division I National Scholar Athlete on Monday morning. He is the Division I All-American with the greatest overall grade-point average.
The NFHCA National Scholar-Athlete Award is given yearly to the Division I All-American with the highest cumulative grade-point average through the first semester of the current academic year.
McVeigh had a 3.95 grade point average this semester while leading the Blue Devils to the NCAA semifinals and runner-up in the ACC Championship. In addition to earning NFHCA All-America first-team accolades, McVeigh was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 17 goals.
Seeing the field for the first time in her Duke career, she scored at least one goal in 14 games and had the game-winning goal in five, including two in overtime. Her 17 goals are tied for 16th in Duke single-season history and the most since Rose Tynan’s 17 in 2017. Her 37 points rank 25th in program history for a single season and are the most since Tynan’s 37 in 2017.
The Blue Devils had one of their best seasons in history, finishing the regular season with an 18-5 overall record and third place in the NFHCA poll. Duke earned a share of the ACC regular season championship. Following a 7-11 season in 2022, Duke’s 18 wins were an 8.5-point improvement, placing them tied for 12th in NCAA history.