|
Iowa Field Hockey
Head coach Judith Davis lead the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship games in 1983 and 1984, but fell short of the national semifinals with a triple-overtime loss to Northwestern the following season. The Hawkeyes would not be disappointed in 1986 when they claimed the NCAA Championship crown with a 2-1 victory over New Hampshire. Four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Beth Beglin, took over for Davis in 1988 and led the Hawkeyes right back to the national title match. In 1992 she piloted the Hawkeyes to a 20-1 season with their only defeat coming in the NCAA Championship final. Beglin was honored as the National Coach of the Year following the near-perfect season. Kristy Gleason, a four-time All-American, led her 1992 Iowa squad to the record books on the field that season. The conference's most valuable player and eventual two-time Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year award-winner, Gleason set a league record for most goals in a season with 16. She also scored a record 35 points. On the other end of the field, Andrea Weiland dominated the league defensively, recording six shutouts. The Iowa field hockey squad set the standard of success from the beginning of Big Ten competition, controlling the top spot for more than a decade. From the sport's inception in the Big Ten in 1981 until 1992, the Hawkeyes claimed six of nine conference titles and boasted 31 All-Americans and 26 All-Big Ten selections. The team also fielded 25 NCAA All-Tournament team members and nine U.S. Olympic participants.
|
|