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| January 2005
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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Field hockey season may be well over, but the excitement is still buzzing through the athletic offices. Coach Steve Jennings was awarded the Dita/NFCHA Division I Coach of the Year award last week by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. In 2004, Jennings completed his sixth season at AU, leading the team to its best year in school history. Prior to the NCAA Tournament, the AU Eagles had the longest winning streak in the country, winning 17 consecutive games over eight weeks. The Eagles finished 19-3 overall, were undefeated in the Patriot League, and took their first win in the NCAA Tournament in program history. Jennings has brought the Eagles to their only two NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as winning back-to-back Patriot League Tournament crowns. He has compiled a 70-41 record over his six seasons. This season, the Eagles finished seventh in the NFHCA Division I Poll, the highest the program has ever been ranked. Jennings is just the second AU coach to garner National Coach of the Year Honors, with Eagle men's soccer coach Pete Mehlert earning the award in 1985. “Steve
Jennings is very deserving of the award," says AU Athletics Director
Dr. Joni Comstock. "Not only does he exemplify the special talent
needed to earn an award such as this, but he also enhances the character,
focus on academic excellence, and personal development of all of the student
athletes he coaches." -Ashley
Ferrell ‘07 |
Field
Hockey Coach Named Division I Coach of the Year