HISTORY OF FIELD HOCKEY AT MU

HISTORY OF FIELD HOCKEY AT MU

Field hockey has been a part of Mansfield University athletics ever since Irene Aubrey first introduced the sport from England in 1915. One of the first sports offered for women, it boasts the longest consecutive intercollegiate competition of any women's athletic program at MU.

The past five seasons have been among the most successful in school history including a first ever national ranking in 1999.

Mansfield has produced some of the top players in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference -- considered the best NCAA Division II Field Hockey conference in the country -- in recent years. Goalie Cathy White earned All-PSAC recognition in 1993 while also being named the MU Fall Athlete of the Year. Teammate Kelly smith was a three time Mid-East All-Star while goalie Robin Adams became the third player in school history to earn PSAC Player of the Week honors in 1995 and repeated the honor in 1996.

In 1997 Tandy Carey earned PSAC Player of the Week before becoming one of four Mountaineers to be named to the 1997 All-PSAC Field Hockey team along with Misty Drasher and Jamie Huffcut. 1998 saw Drasher and Huffcut again claim All-PSAC honors with Huffcut along with Gretchen Reschke, who was also twice named PSAC Player of the Week, and Lisa Bray earning All-PSAC honors last year. The 1999 season also marked a milestone with Huffcut and Reschke named the first All-Americans in school history.

2000 Gretchen Reschke became the fist player in school history to earn back-to-back All-American honors and joined Jamie Huffcut on the All-PSAC 1^st Team. Lisa Bray was a 2^nd Team All-PSAC selection while Huffcut was honored to play in the NFHCA NCAA Division II North/South All-Star Game. She also became the fist player in school history to be named to All-PSAC honors four times.

Last season, the Mountaineers captured their first ever title defeating Assumption College 2-1 in the ECAC Championship game. Mansfield was ranked in every weekly NCAA Division II poll finishing the season ranked 9^th in the nation. Reschke become the first player in school history to be named to 1^st Team All-American honors marking her third straight appearance on the All-American team. She was also named to 1^st Team All-PSAC honors. Kristi Swartz was named to 2^nd Team All-PSAC honors.

Mansfield University takes pride in the many accomplishments of its student-athletes on and off the field, but the university's greatest pride comes on graduation day. At Mansfield, athletes are students first and foremost.

MU is dedicated to providing student-athletes with an academic experience that includes a success athletics program.

In order to help insure your success, MU has a 15-year old athletic mentoring program with a full-time faculty athletic mentor. In addition, Mansfield is a member of the NCAA Foundations CHAMPS/Lifeskill program that is designed to enhance your life experience off the field and out of the classroom.

Mansfield University is a charter member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, one of the largest NCAA Division II conference's in the nation. Recognized as a field hockey hotbed, the PSAC has captured 11 of the past 12 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Mountaineers annually play the top-ranked teams in both NCAA Division II and III.

MU is also affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a voluntary conference of more than 280 colleges and universities throughout New England, the Middle Atlantic States, The District of Columbia, Virginia, and North Carolina.