Official ECAC Hockey Release (pdf)

TROY, N.Y. – ECAC Hockey has announced the winner of the 2009-10 Student-Athlete of the Year award and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Laura Gersten has been named this year's recipient.  A senior, Gersten won the award over Dartmouth College's Sarah Parsons and Harvard University's Randi Griffin.

A native of Queensbury, N.Y., Gersten owns 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 RPI 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 & business services summer analyst. She has also interned with the Hudson Headwaters Health Network.

“Laura has been an influential leader, an outstanding role model, and has had a major impact in the success of the Engineers' program in ECAC Hockey,” said head coach John Burke. “She has earned the respect from her fellow teammates and coaching staff because of her professionalism, excellent communication skills, and selflessness for the betterment of the program.”

Gersten has also 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 finished fourth on the team in points with 22. She tallied eight goals and was second on the team with 14 assists. A defenseman, she played in all 37 games recording at least one point in 17 games. She ranked fourth among the league blueliners in overall scoring and was sixth in scoring among her peers in league action with four goals and nine assists for 13 points. Gersten was also a two-time ECAC Hockey Weekly Honor Roll selection.

During her career, Gersten, who was an assistant captain as a junior, had 21 goals and 43 assists for 64 points in 141 games. She finished 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.

Prior to attending Rensselaer, Gersten played for the Troy-Albany Ice Cats, where she was a three-time assistant captain. She helped lead the team to the 2006 New York State Tier I U-19 Championship and was a three-time Empire State Games gold medalist.

The Engineers wrapped up the 2009-10 season with a 16-15-6 record, including an 11-7-4 mark in ECAC Hockey play. RPI, which defeated Quinnipiac in a best-of-three quarterfinal series, advanced to its second straight appearance in the semifinals before falling to eventual conference champion, Cornell.