Northwestern, Shippensburg, Middlebury take home National Coaching Staff of the Year honors
LAKE MARY, Fla. — NCAA National Champions Northwestern University, Shippensburg University, and Middlebury College, have been named their respective division’s National Coaching Staff of the Year for their performances in the 2021 season.
The NFHCA National Coaching Staff of the Year awards were announced on Thursday evening at the NFHCA Awards Dinner sponsored by AstroTurf®, the culminating event of the NFHCA Annual Convention. Honorees were selected by a majority vote by their peers from the Regional Coaching Staffs of the Year.
Division I
Northwestern University
Tracey Fuchs, Will Byrne, Georgia Holland
- Clenched first NCAA Division I National Championship in program history
- Secured their second West Region Coaching Staff of the Year award
- Finished the season 18-5 overall and 5-3 in Big Ten Conference play
- Six student-athletes named to an NFHCA All-West Region team and three student-athletes named All-Big Ten
- This is Northwestern’s second National Coaching honor
Division II
Shippensburg University
Tara Zollinger, Jordan Page, Alexandra Pennington
- Zollinger named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Coach of the Year
- Finished the season as undefeated NCAA Division II National Champions
- Shippenburg’s Jazmin Petrantonio named NFHCA Division II National Player of the Year and Division II Honda Sport Award Finalist for Field Hockey
- PSAC regular-season and tournament champions
- Secured eighth Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year award and the third for staffs led by Zollinger
- This is Shippenburg’s fifth National Coaching honor
Division III
Middlebury College
Katharine DeLorenzo, Lauren McNally, Andrea Way
- DeLorenzo named New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Coach of the Year
- Undefeated season led to Middlebury’s fourth-consecutive NCAA Division III Championship
- Middlebury’s Erin Nicholas named NFHCA Division III National Player of the Year and Division III Honda Award Finalist for Field Hockey
- NESCAC regular-season and tournament champions
- Secure fifth Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award
- This is Middlebury’s fifth National Coaching honor
The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) is a nonprofit organization serving field hockey coaches and supporters of the game from across the United States. The mission of the organization is to champion, strengthen, and celebrate field hockey coaches and the game. The NFHCA strives to cultivate and recognize the professional contributions of its membership and to foster and promote the growth of the sport. The NFHCA is responsible for providing a recognizable presence and voice in regard to legislation affecting the sport as well as interscholastic and intercollegiate programs.