UNIVERSITY2008 OF UCONN CONNECTICUT FIELD HOCKEY MEDIA GUIDE 19 NCAA Tournament2006 University Berths of Connecticut33 First-Team Field All-America Hockey choices 2008 CONNECTICUT FIELD HOCKEY MEDIA GUIDE Table of Contents ..........................................................................................1 This is UConn Field Hockey ......................................................................2-3 Back-to-Back NCAA National Semifinalists ................................................4-5 National Dominance....................................................................................6-7 Home of UConn Field Hockey ......................................................................8 UConn’s 100-Point Club ................................................................................9 2008 Roster/Quick Facts .............................................................................10 2008 Schedule ............................................................................................11 2008 Season Preview ............................................................................12-13 2007 NCAA NATIONAL SEMIFINALISTS THE COACHING STAFF Head Coach Nancy Stevens ..................................................................14-15 2007 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT CHAMPS The UConn Coaching Staff ..........................................................................16 2007 BIG EAST REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS What They’re Saying - Former Letterwinners ..............................................17 THE 2008 CONNECTICUT HUSKIES Lauren Aird ..................................................................................................18 Melissa Gonzalez ........................................................................................19 Jennifer Kleinhans........................................................................................20 Lindsey Leck ................................................................................................21 Andrea Mainiero ..........................................................................................22 Katie Scully ..................................................................................................23 Katie Semanoff ............................................................................................24 Gina Uguccioni ............................................................................................25 Meghan Wheeler..........................................................................................26 Anna Easty/Robin Kleine ............................................................................27 Chadbourne/Griep/Karpiak/Slaughter ..........................................................28 Williams/Krzyk/Loviza/Semlear ....................................................................29 Angulo/Blankmeyer/Connolly/Dunbar ..........................................................30 Heistand/Kleeblad/Littlejohn/Silverman........................................................31 Individual Career Player Highs/Composite Schedule ..................................32 2007 SEASON IN REVIEW 2007 Final Statistics & Results ....................................................................33 2007 Season In Review..........................................................................34-35 2007 BIG EAST Review ..............................................................................36 Seniors Lauren Aird (left) and Lindsey Leck (right) are UConn top HISTORY & HONORS returning scorers this season. Leck ranked second on the All-Time vs. Opponents/Year-by-Year Record ............................................37 Huskies in 2007 with 29 points, while Aird was right behind at 28. UConn BIG EAST Honor Roll ......................................................................38 UConn Honor Roll........................................................................................39 UConn Record Book ....................................................................................40 All-Time UConn Field Hockey Letterwinners ..............................................41 Where Are They Now? ................................................................................42 All-Time Results......................................................................................43-47 THIS IS UCONN The UConn Story ....................................................................................48-49 Living the UConn Experience ................................................................50-51 TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Top-10 Reasons to Come to UConn ......................................................52-53 UConn Athletics - A Tradition of Success ..............................................54-55 20 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS Field Hockey Support ..................................................................................56 NINE NATIONAL SEMIFINAL APPEARANCES CREDITS 19 NCAA TOURNAMENT The 2008 University of Connecticut Field Hockey media guide was written, edited, APPEARANCES designed and compiled by Assistant Athletic Communications Director Randy Press on Quark Express. Special thanks to Luanne Dunstan, Elisa Palmieri, Matt Chudoba & Andrea Press. Published for the University of Connecticut Division of Athletics, Jeffrey A. 33 FIRST TEAM Hathaway, Director. Photography courtesy of Bob Stowell Photography, Stephen Slade ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS Photography, Steve Parker and the BIG EAST, C.W. Pack Sports and the UConn Athletic Communications archives. Covers designed by Summit Athletic Media, Charlotte, N.C. 49 FIRST TEAM Printed by Thames Printing Company Inc., Norwich, Conn. ALL-BIG EAST SELECTIONS 2008 UCONN FIELD HOCKEY 1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 1981 1981 (3-0) NATIONAL CHAMPIONS First Round: Connecticut 2, Purdue 1 Semifinals: Connecticut 3, Old Dominion 0 The 1981 NCAA Champion field hockey team was honored last fall Championship: Connecticut 4, Massachusetts 1 on the 25th anniversary of its NCAA title - the first in UConn history. 1985 (3-0) NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Second Round: Connecticut 2, Maryland 0 Semifinals: Connecticut 2, Boston University 1 Championship: Connecticut 3, Old Dominion 2 1981 REFLECTION - The birth of a national postseason competition for women’s athletics came from the passing of Title IX in 1972 and as 277 Division I institutions sponsored women’s sports entered the NCAA in 1981. It would be in that same year when, out of 95 participating Division I field hockey schools, the University of Connecticut would be select- ed to host the first-ever NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship at Memorial Stadium on November 21 & 22, 1981 in Storrs, Connecticut. During that historical year in women’s college sports, under new national governance, seventh-year head coach Diane Wright would guide her Connecticut team to a 15-2-3 overall record and a berth in the home-hosted contest. The underdog UConn upset top-seeded and top-ranked Massachusetts, 4-1, in the championship final to seal the title for the Huskies. They became the first-ever NCAA Champion in the sport, the school’s first-ever NCAA National Championship team (men’s or women’s) and the first-ever college women’s team to be crowned as NCAA Division I Champions. UConn standouts Laurie Decker, Lynn Kotler, Lorie McCollum and Rose Smith were named to the NCAAAll-Tournament Team, while Decker and McCollum became Connecticut field hockey’s first All-American selections. Since the 1981 National Championship season, Connecticut has qualified for 18 of the 26 national postseason tournaments held, with eight appearances in the NCAA National Semifinals. A 1985 National Championship would be added to the program’s growing list of accomplishments. 1985 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS NATIONAL DOMINANCE Nine National Semifinal Appearances 1981*, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985*, 1982 (2-1) NATIONAL RUNNER-UP 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 Second Round: Connecticut 3, Iowa 2 (OT) Semifinals: Connecticut 2, Delaware 0 *- Two National Championships Championship: Old Dominion 3, Connecticut 2 10 Additional NCAA Appearances 1986 (1-1) National Quarterfinals First Round: Connecticut 3, Massachusetts 2 Quarterfinals: New Hampshire 2, Connecticut 1 1988 (0-1) NCAA First Round First Round: Northeastern 2, Connecticut 1 2006 (2-1) NATIONAL SEMIFINALS 1983 (2-1) NATIONAL RUNNER-UP 1990 (0-1) NCAA First Round First Round: Connecticut 3, Boston University 0 Second Round: Connecticut 1, Penn State 0 First Round: Massachusetts 1, Connecticut 0 (3 OT) Second Round: Connecticut 3, Princeton 0 Semifinals: Connecticut 2, Northwestern 0 Semifinals: Maryland 2, Connecticut 1 (penalty strokes) Championship: Old Dominion 3, Connecticut 1 (OT) 1996 (0-1) National Quarterfinals Quarterfinals: Northeastern 3, Connecticut 1 1997 (1-1) National Quarterfinals First Round: Connecticut 1, James Madison 0 Quarterfinals: North Carolina 4, Connecticut 0 2000 (1-1) National Quarterfinals First Round: Connecticut 2, Virginia 1 Quarterfinals: Old Dominion 6, Connecticut 4 2002 (0-1) NCAA First Round First Round: Northeastern 1, Connecticut 0 2007 (2-1) NATIONAL SEMIFINALS First Round: Connecticut 4, Massachsuetts 1 2003 (1-1) National Quarterfinals Second Round: Connecticut 2, Boston University 1 1984 (2-1) NATIONAL SEMIFINALS First Round: Connecticut 2, Northeastern 1 Semifinals: North Carolina 4, Connecticut 2 Second Round: Connecticut 4, Massachusetts 3 Quarterfinals: Wake Forest 3, Connecticut 0 Quarterfinals: Connecticut 3, New Hampshire 2 (OT) LIZZY PEIJS Semifinals: Old Dominion 2, Connecticut