Meese Named Div. III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by NFHCA

For the fourth time in her career, and the second time this decade, College of Wooster's head field hockey coach Brenda Meese has been named Div. III Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. The announcement was made Tuesday by the NFHCA.

Meese led Wooster to a 17-6 overall record, which were the most wins for the program since 1981. The Fighting Scots captured a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship during the regular season, and then went on to claim the NCAC Tournament Title with a 1-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan University that awarded them an automatic bid into the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

For only the second time in school history, the Scots advanced in the tournament by upending Hamilton College 2-1, but then fell to Salisbury University in second-round action. Meese guided seven players to all-conference accolades, and had one, Amanda Artman, become the school's only Longstreth/NFHCA Div. III All-America First Team selection.

During her 19-year coaching career at Wooster, Meese has become the program's all-time winningest coach, racking up a 233-129-4 (.642) all-time record, including 16 winning seasons. She currently ranks fourth on the Div. III all-time victories list with 357 wins, which combines the 124 wins she amassed during her 10 years coaching at the State University of New York at Oneonta. Meese, who is also a Wooster graduate, was inducted into the "W" Associate Hall of Fame earlier this year for her contributions as a field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse player during the 1970s.