Dartmouth hockey captain Sarah Parsons '10 and baseball outfielder Sam Bean '11 were both named to ESPN The Magazine's 2010 Academic All-District Second Team last Thursday. The award is voted on by the sports information directors of the schools in the NCAA's first district. Parsons and Bean were named from a pool of student athletes from Northeastern colleges and universities including Yale University, Boston College, the U.S. Military Academy and Marist University.
"It was quite an honor," Bean said. "I actually found out that I won the award at the hotel in Columbia when we were playing for the Ivy League Championship."
Students nominated for the award must currently maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and have participated in over 50 percent of their team's season games. Parsons' All-District team consists of players from a variety of women's NCAA sports, while Bean's team exclusively consists of baseball players.
"I've always worked hard to try to be more than just a hockey player," Parsons said. "It feels great to receive this honor."
Parsons, an economics major, has greatly contributed to Dartmouth hockey during her four-year career. She led the team to the ECAC tournament title her junior year and also led the Big Green to three NCAA Division 1 tournament quarterfinal appearances. She also ranks eighth in career scoring in Dartmouth history, with 156 points.
Bean, a government major, recently broke into the Dartmouth starting lineup. Bean is a clutch hitter who has scored five game-tying or game-winning runs this year. Before this season, Bean spent his Fall term studying government at the London School of Economics.
Parsons and Bean attended rival high schools and grew up in adjacent towns in the greater Boston area. Parsons attended Noble and Greenough Academy and grew up in Dover, Mass. Bean is from Needham, Mass. and attended Brooks Academy. Both schools are part of the Independent School League and battle each other in various sports.
"This is probably the greatest sports-academic achievement I've ever had," said Bean. "Winning awards in high school doesn't compare because I graduated in a class of 120. In the Northeast, there are multiple Division I programs and multiple [Division 1] schools, so there's a ton of competition."
Both Parsons and Bean did not directly hear that they had received the award. Both were contacted by friends and family congratulating them for the honor after they saw it posted online.
"My dad sent me an e-mail that said, Check this out, it's pretty cool.' It was a page that linked me to the ESPN All-District list, and my name was on it," Bean said. "I was really excited because it honored more than athletics. It honored the main reason why I go to school, especially a school like Dartmouth."
ESPN The Magazine's award adds to the growing number of hockey accolades that Parsons has received throughout her dominate Dartmouth hockey career. In addition, Parsons was named First Team All-Ivy and Second Team All-ECAC.
This year, Parsons led the women's hockey team in all offensive statistics. Although known for her offensive production after her stellar freshman year, Parsons is actually a very defensive forward. She was named a finalist for this year's ECAC Defensive Forward of the Year award. She also participated in the 2006 winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, earning a bronze medal as a member of the United States Women's National Hockey team.
Bean has been a member of two Ivy League Championship baseball teams in 2009 and 2010. Both years represent the only championships in Dartmouth's history. He also played in the Ivy League Championship his freshman year, but the team was defeated by a tough Columbia squad.
This year, Bean is batting .310 and has 27 hits and eight RBIs. He has played in 34 out of Dartmouth's 43 games.
After graduation, Parsons plans to work for Morgan Stanley in New York, N.Y. She will be a member of the sales department. Bean will spend the summer off campus working out and training for the upcoming baseball season.