Ewing, NJ…Senior Alex Okuniewicz (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) earned the biggest honor of her standout career at The College of New Jersey as she was named the 2011 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Year.
 
Okuniewicz is only the third player in the program's rich history to earn this prestigious honor joining Jennifer Cortese (1995) and Tiffany Trockenbrod (1999).

"This honor is something I could have never fathomed I would receive. It is such a great honor and I am so thankful to be the 2011 recipient," Okuniewicz said. "I could have never been the player I am today without my team and my coaches. Our coaching staff at TCNJ is incredible. Every coach has the ability to take your playing skills to the next level and push you further than you ever have been before. It really is amazing. My teammates are really the ones that make everything fall into place on the field," she continued. "You could work as hard as you could ever possibly work on the field and get absolutely no where if you do not have a team of 26 girls who will absolutely do anything in their power to help you succeed. My team and coaches have been amazing and I thank them for helping me reach such amazing goals."   
  
Last week, Okuniewicz reeled in two other honors as she was named All-American First Team, in addition to being tabbed as the South Atlantic Region Player of the Year. She was also an All-South Atlantic Region First Team honoree.
 
Okuniewicz earned various honors from the New Jersey Athletic Conference during the course of the season as she was the 2011 New Jersey Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-NJAC First Team, marking the third straight year she has earned that honor.
 
This season, she finished with 33 points on 13 goals and seven assists. For her career, Okuniewicz collected 94 points over the course of four standout seasons.

“I am so happy and proud of Alex,” noted TCNJ head coach Sharon Pfluger. “She is an incredibly hard worker and an outstanding role model for her teammates. She has done a terrific job for us for four years starting and playing in every game of her career.  She is an invaluable member of our team and a terrific representative for Division III Field Hockey.”
 
The Lions won their 10^th NCAA Championship and 11^th overall title as they defeated Middlebury College by the score of 3-1 in Dudley, MA. Following the title, Okuniewicz was named to the 2011 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team.
 
TCNJ went 24-2 on the season with those 24 wins the most the program has earned since 1986. The team went 6-0 in conference play and won the first post-season tournament sponsored by the NJAC.