Inside Rensselaer, March 19, 2010: Laura Gersten Named ECACH Student-Athlete of the Year

	Laura Gersten (shown above) has been named the 2009-10 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year.

Laura Gersten Named ECACH
Student-Athlete of the Year

Rensselaer student-athlete Laura Gersten has been named the 2009-10 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year. The award is presented to the conference’s top academic women’s player. A native of Queensbury, N.Y., Gersten has a 3.82 cumulative grade point average as a business and management major. A Dean’s List student in every semester, she is the president of the Rensselaer chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society. She is also a three-time selection to the ECAC Hockey All-Academic team.

An intern with several high-profile organizations, Gersten worked for J.P. Morgan Chase in the summer of 2009 as an operations and business services summer analyst. She has also interned with the Hudson Headwaters Health Network.

Gersten also has served as a coach with various youth teams throughout the Capital Region and has volunteered her time in the community throughout her four-year career. She helped raised money and participated in each of the last four Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walks in Albany’s Washington Park, and is also a three-time participant and fundraiser for Relay for Life.

The Engineers’ captain this season, Gersten is currently fourth on the team in points with 21. She has seven goals and leads the team with 14 assists. A defenseman, she has played in all 36 games tallying at least one point in 16 games to help Rensselaer to a 16-14-6 record. She is also a two-time ECAC Hockey Weekly Honor Roll selection.

Among the highlights of her season was the game-winning goal at 4:32 of the fifth overtime to give the Engineers a 2-1 victory over Quinnipiac in game three of the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals. Rensselaer won the best-of-three series to advance to its second straight conference semifinals appearance.

During her career, Gersten, who was an assistant captain as a junior, has 20 goals and 43 assists for 63 points in 140 games. She is fourth all-time in program history in defenseman scoring and has achieved several accolades, including a 2008-09 ECAC Hockey Championship All-Tournament Team selection and the team’s Most Valuable Player as a freshman.

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