Harrisonburg, Va. (Nov. 4) - Old Dominion junior midfielder Marina DiGiacomo (Mendoza, Argentina) and head coach Beth Anders were honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Player and Coach of the Year, as announced by the conference office.
Both DiGiacomo and Anders lead a list of seven conference honorees in the 1999 season.
In addition to Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors, Old Dominion received three All-CAA first team nods and three more All-CAA second team nods. DiGiacomo, Kim Miller (Virginia Beach, Va.), and Adrienne Yoder (Coopersburg, Va.) earned a spot on the first team while Ashleigh Miller (West Vancouver, British Columbia), Tiffany Snow (Escondido, California), and Marjolijn van der Sommen (Leiden, Netherlands) earned a spot on the All-CAA second team.
DiGiacomo, a three-time CAA Player of the Year, is leading the Lady Monarchs in scoring with 30 goals and eight assists. She has netted 94 goals and 54 assists on her career. In the history of the conference, only one student-athlete has been named a four-time Player of the Year - Old Dominion swimmer Mary Kay Bolduc.
Anders, the 1998 NFHCA/Dita National Coach of the Year, has collected her fifth Coach of the Year honor from the CAA. This season, she has guided her team to a 16-4 record, including a 5-0 mark in the conference.
The Lady Monarchs earned the top seed going into this weekend's tournament at James Madison University. Saturday at 3:30 pm, they will play the winner of the American/Richmond contest.
1999 CAA Field Hockey Tournament
James Madison Univeristy (Harrisonburg, Va.)
First Round - Friday, November 5
#6 Va. Commonwealth (4-15,1-4) vs. #3 William & Mary (10-9,3-2), 1 pm
#5 American (8-8, 1-4) vs. #4 Richmond (9-11, 1-4), 3:30 pm
Semifinals - Saturday, November 6
#2 James Madison (14-5, 4-1) vs. Va. Commonwealth/William & Mary winner, 1 pm
#1 Old Dominion (14-6, 5-0) vs. American/Richmond winner, 3:30 pm
Championship - Sunday, November 7 -- 1 p.m.