The Big Ten announced its 2011 field hockey players to watch list on Wednesday, highlighted by defending Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Chelsea Armstrong of Northwestern and the last two Big Ten Freshman of the Year honorees in the Ohio State pair of Berta Queralt and Paula Pastor-Pitarque.

The complete release can be found here.

Northwestern was recognized Tuesday by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) for achieving the highest collective team GPA among all Division I field hockey programs for the fall academic period. The Wildcats placed 13 individuals on the 2010 Academic All-Big Ten team, amassed a team GPA of 3.54 for the fall quarter.

Five other Big Ten schools were honored with achieving a team GPA of 3.0 or higher, including Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State.

Associate head coach Helen Knull was appointed to head coach of Michigan State, replacing Rolf van de Kerkhof who accepted the head coaching position at Delaware. Knull has been with the Spartan coaching staff for the past five seasons, helping Michigan State to a 74-34 overall record, including a 34-10 mark over the last two seasons. Knull came to Michigan State from her alma mater Kent State, where she was a four-year starter for the Golden Flashes and eventually served on the coaching staff for three years.

To read the complete release, click here.

Penn State head coach Charlene Morett and Ohio State's Anne Wilkinson were named the 2010 Dita/NFHCA Mideast and West Region Coaches of the Year, respectively, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association announced Wednesday.

Morett lead the Nittany Lions to a 14-6 overall record and a 4-2 record in the Big Ten. Penn State received an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the 21 appearance in Morett's career. The Nittany Lions led the nation with an .816 save percentage and finished 10th in the final NFHCA poll. Morett coached three student-athletes, Kelsey Amy, Ayla Halus and Jessica Longstreth to All-America honors and four members were recognized as All-Region honorees.

Wilkinson guided Ohio State to a successful 2010 season, including a 18-5 overall record and setting a school record for most wins in a single season. The Buckeyes finished 5-1 in the Big Ten, won their third Big Ten regular season title and advanced to their first NCAA final four appearance in school history. Wilkinson guided Aisling Coyle and Berta Queralt to All-America status, while Coyle earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Paula Pastor-Pitarque was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honoree.