ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst College senior goaltender Ashley Harper has been named the Top Scholar-Athlete in College Hockey America for the 2010-11 season, as announced by league officials late Thursday afternoon. In addition to Harper's accolades, a total of nine Lakers were named to the CHA All-Academic Team.

Harper received the award by achieving the highest grade point average over the course of the academic periods of competition throughout the entire conference. A native of Butler, Pa, the history major appeared in two contests during the season and posted a perfect save percentage and goals against average.

Along with being named the CHA Top Scholar-Athlete, Harper also earned a spot of the Academic All-Star Team for posting the highest GPA at her position. Joining Harper on the All-Star Team was senior forward Vicki Bendus, who had the highest GPA at the forward position in the conference.

Joining Harper and Bendus on the All-Academic Team was senior defenseman Melissa Lacroix, junior forward Meghan Corbett, junior defenseman Kyleigh Palmer, junior forward Kelley Steadman, junior defenseman Pamela Zgoda, sophomore forward Lauren Jones, and sophomore goaltender Stephanie Ciampa. To qualify for the College Hockey Ameica All-Academic Team, an individual must post a 3.0 grade point average or higher in all of the academic periods during which her team was actively competing.

Capping off her career with a degree in biology / pre-med and a 3.95 grade point average, Bendus helped the Lakers to a 29-6-0 record and their seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. She scored 19 goals and added 33 assists for 52 points, good enough to rank her third on the team and earn her a spot on the All-College Hockey America First Team. The native of Wasaga Beach, Ontario was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award this season after winning the award last season and was named a Capital One First Team Academic All-American earlier this month. She finished her career with 69 goals and 121 assists in 140 career games at Mercyhurst.

A native of Penetanguishene, Ontario, Lacroix scored three goals and added 15 assists while finishing with a plus-28 rating on defense. She finished her career with 69 points in 144 games as a Laker and was named a First Team All-Conference selection following her junior season.

Also wrapping up her career last season was Corbett, who finished with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native scored goals in back-to-back games, including one against Wisconsin on January 2. She tallied 32 points in 103 career games at Mercyhurst.

Palmer, also hailing from Winnipeg, had a goal and four assists last season, while appearing in all 35 games. She posted a plus-24 rating and scored her goal of the season, the eventual game-winner, at Robert Morris on January 22. She has 26 points in 101 career games, including 32 games at Vermont during her freshman season.

Steadman, a native of Plattsburgh, NY, posted career highs in goals (17) and points (29) during her junior campaign, placing her sixth on the team in scoring. This season, she was named to the U.S. National Team at the IIHF Women's World Championships. She has 79 points, including 45 goals, in 106 career games heading into her senior season.

Zgoda, from Cheektowaga, NY, has just been named captain for the upcoming season. She was an All-Conference First Team selection after breaking out with career highs in points (22) and assists (18), after scoring just 17 points combined in her first two seasons. She tallied the game-winning goal at Wayne State on November 20.

A native of Bloomington, IL, Jones played in all 35 games last season, scoring five goals and adding five assists. She led Mercyhurst freshmen in scoring two seasons ago with 15 points and now has 25 points (13goals) in 70 games at Mercyhurst.

Rounding out Mercyhurst All-Academic Team members is Ciampa, who serves as the backup netminder on the squad. The native of Peabody, MA, appeared in five games this season, making two starts. She allowed just two goals in over 180 minutes of action (0.66 goals against average, .957 save percentage) and had a perfect 2-0-0 record. In two seasons at Mercyhurst, Ciampa is 3-0-0 with a 1.20 goals against average and a .928 save percentage.