ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior forward
Grace Heiting of the Union College women's hockey team was announced as a finalist for the 2021 Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year award, the ECAC Hockey conference office announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to an ECAC Hockey women's player in honor of former Yale University student-athlete Mandi Schwartz (1988-2011). Mandi passed away in April 2011, but continues to inspire the hockey community through the memory of her courageous battle with acute myeloid leukemia.
Student-athletes are nominated by their coaching staff and school administrators and must be leaders within their teams, in the classroom, and in the community. Each ECAC Hockey institution boasts one finalist for the award.
"Grace is the epitome of a Union College student-athlete," said head women's hockey coach
Josh Sciba. "She truly embodies leadership, commitment and achievement both on and off the ice, and she is a high achiever that we trust to set an example for other student-athletes to follow."
On the ice, Heiting led the Dutchwomen in scoring in 2019-20 with 14 points on six goals and eight assists, following up a rookie season in which she ranked third on the team with 10 points (five goals and five assists). She earned Union's Terry Lynch-Jackie Havercamp Cuttita Memorial Award in 2019 and the Female Sophomore Athletic Prize in 2020 as the school's top female first-year and sophomore athlete of the year, respectively.
In the classroom, Heiting is double majoring in Spanish and biology on a Pre-Med track. A two-time ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team selection and a 2019-20 AHCA All-American Scholar, she is currently in the Beckman Scholars Program, which provides "mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences, or interdisciplinary combinations thereof." She is also an active member of Union's Honor Council, playing a part in maintaining academic integrity on campus.
In addition, Heiting serves as a campus ambassador for Gift of Life, a non-profit organization that recruits donors to join the national bone marrow registry. In her role, she holds drives and events targeted at college students, and has already matched two potential donors during her time at Union.
The winner of the 2021 Mandi Schwartz Student-Athlete of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.
