Nov. 2, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (November 2, 2007) -- Freshman Loran Hatch (Green Lane, Pa.) was named the CAA Rookie of the Year and head coach Beth Anders was namd the CAA Coach of the Year, while four Lady Monarchs earned First Team All-CAA and two were named CAA All-Rookie team members at the banquet Friday night in Virginia Beach on the eve of the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Field Hockey Championship.
Also receiving top field hockey honors from the conference were James Madison sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins as CAA Player of the Year and sophomore back Suzanne Hazelzet as CAA Defensive Player of the Year
Hatch becomes the seventh Lady Monarch to earn CAA Rookie of the Year honors after sharing the team lead and finishing sixth in the conference with eight goals, tops among all rookies. The freshman also contributed three game-winning goals, two coming against ranked CAA opponents Delaware and eight-ranked James Madison in a match that decided the league's regular season champion.
Anders earns her 10th CAA Coach of the Year honor after guiding Old Dominion to a perfect record in conference play (8-0) for the 13th time. The Lady Monarchs, who are 11-8 overall, are ranked 10th in the STX/NFHCA poll. Winners of 24 consecutive regular season CAA matches, Old Dominion once again proved its national prowess by facing four of the top five teams and eight members of the top 20 this year. Anders is in her 25th season at the helm of the Lady Monarchs' field hockey squad, and has increased her all-time Division I-leading career victories total to 490.
Old Dominion led all schools with four players selected to the All-CAA first team. First team members included sophomore midfielder Titia Beek (Heiloo, Holland), junior back Katelyn Smither (Suffolk, Va.), senior midfielder Jo Ann van Aswegen (Bloemfontien, South Africa), and junior goalkeeper Kelly Driscoll (West Chester, Pa.).
The Old Dominion field hockey team begins its quest for a 14th Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title on Saturday, November 3rd at noon at the United States National Training Center in Virginia Beach. The top-seeded Lady Monarchs will take on fourth-seeded Northeastern in the semifinals.
The winners of Saturday's semifinals will meet in the championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
2007 ALL-CAA FIELD HOCKEY TEAM
(As selected by CAA Field Hockey Coaches)
FIRST TEAM
Name, School
Titia Beek, Old Dominion
Christina Boarman, Towson
Carolina Gibernau, Drexel
Sarah Gostomski, Drexel
Suzanne Hazelzet, Northeastern
Casey Howard, Delaware
Katelyn Smither, Old Dominion
Melissa Stefaniak, James Madison
Jo Ann van Aswegen, Old Dominion
Lauren Walls, James Madison
Kelsey Cutchins, James Madison
Kelly Driscoll, Old Dominion*
SECOND TEAM
Name, School
Meghan Bain, James Madison*
Ashley Bascetta, Northeastern
Brit Blankmeyer, Hofstra
Kim Hedley, William and Mary#
Emily Horvat, Drexel
Kajee Murangi, Towson
Megan Sauder, VCU
Ashley Walls, James Madison
Melissa Walls, James Madison#
Charlia Warner, Hofstra*
Ashley Webber, Northeastern*
Colleen McAndrew, Drexel
2007 CAA Player of the Year: Kelsey Cutchins, James Madison
2007 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Suzanne Hazelzet, Northeastern
2007 CAA Rookie of the Year: Loran Hatch, Old Dominion
2007 CAA Coach of the Year: Beth Anders, Old Dominion
* denotes All-CAA first team in 2006
# denotes All-CAA second team in 2006
2007 CAA FIELD HOCKEY ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
(As selected by CAA Field Hockey Coaches)
Name, School
Amanda Bieber, Old Dominion
Susan Ciufo, DrexelJenna Cinalli, William and Mary
Dolores de Rooij, James Madison
Michelle Drummonds, Delaware
Loran Hatch, Old Dominion
Amy-Lee Levey, Hofstra
Randi Segear, James Madison
Meg Sweeney, Northeastern
Flore van Dessel, VCU
Missy Woodie, Delaware