Three Former Blue Hen Standouts Coaching NCAA Field Hockey Tournament Teams this Weekend
Pictured on homepage from left: Missy Meharg (Maryland), Anne Wilkinson (Ohio State), and Ange Bradley (Syracuse)
November 13, 2010
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware field hockey squad may not have qualified for the NCAA Tournament that begins this weekend, but the Blue Hen program will certainly have a significant impact on this year’s championship.
Three former University of Delaware All-Americans - all of them members of the UD Athletics Hall of Fame - are currently serving as NCAA Division I head coaches and each has led her respective squad to this year’s NCAA championship.
Trio, all of whom played for Hall of Fame head coach Mary Ann Hitchens, includes Missy Meharg of Maryland, Ange Bradley of Syracuse, and Anne Wilkinson of American.
Meharg (Delaware ‘85) has engineered the top-seed University of Maryland to a 19-1 record this fall and will lead her Terrapins against Massachusetts at home in College Park, Md. in the first round of the tournament Saturday, Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m. The Terrapins were ranked No. 1 in the final regular season National Field Hockey Coaches Association Top 20 poll announced this week. Now in her 23rd season as head coach at Maryland, Meharg is one of the nation’s most successful coaches in any sport and has led the Terrapins to five national titles, most recently in 2008, seven NCAA championship game appearances, and 11 berths in the semifinals. She is a seven-time National Coach of the Year selection.
Bradley (Delaware ‘88) has led No. 4 ranked Syracuse to a mark of 15-4 this fall with the Orange earning the tournament’s No. 4 seed. Syracuse will host Penn State (14-5) Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Syracuse N.Y. Now in her fourth season at Syracuse, she has led the Orange to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the semifinals in 2008 when she was named National Coach of the Year. She also served as head coach at Richmond for five seasons, leading the squad to the NCAA Tournament all five years, and served as an assistant coach at Iowa and Maryland, helping both squads make NCAA Tournament appearances.
Wilkinson (Delaware ‘86) is in her 15th season as head coach at Ohio State where this fall she has led the No. 7 ranked Buckeyes to a record of 16-4. OSU will take on Albany (15-4) in the first round Saturday at 2 p.m. This year she led Ohio State to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. She previously coached nine seasons at American University.
Delaware posted a record of 8-10 this past season under head coach Carol Miller, who retired last week following 18 seasons at the helm. Miller, herself an UD graduate, led the Blue Hens to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the first round in both 2004 and 2009.
A national search is currently underway to find Miller’s replacement at the helm of the Blue Hens.
Meharg earned All-American honors in field hockey at Delaware in 1983 and was a two-time East Coast Conference Player of the Year. She played seven years on the U.S. National Field Hockey Team. Wilkinson earned All-American honors and the was the ECC Player of the Year in 1985. She is a former U.S. National Under 21 and Under 23 team member. Bradley was one of the top goalkeepers in Delaware history and was a four-year starter in the nets, earning ECC Player of the Year laurels in 1987.
