University of Delaware Athletics
Delaware Head Coach Rolf van de Kerkhof and Staff Honored as NFHCA Regional Coach of the Year
12/8/2016 11:57:00 AM | Field Hockey
• National Championship Celebration Event
Jacki Coveleski, earlier this year was named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and the ECAC Eastern Coach of the Year. He earns the NFCHA regional award for the second time in four years after also being honored following the 2013 campaign when Delaware won the CAA title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a 17-5 record.This year's staff led the Blue Hens to the first National Championship in program history while UD finished the year with a 19-game winning streak and an overall mark of 23-2.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from the NFHCA and would like to thank my coaching peers, my University of Delaware field hockey student-athletes, and my coaching and support staff,” said van de Kerkhof, who has now led Delaware to four straight CAA and NCAA Tournament appearances. “I have been privileged to work with a great players group this year as they went out of their way to prepare and compete. They not only achieved their goals of winning CAA's and punching a ticket to the Final Four, but they won the National Championship. I am fortunate to have been part of their success. They made me look like a good coach.”
Other regional coach of the year award winners were Penn State's Char Morett-Curtiss (Mideast), Harvard's Tjerk van Herwaarden (Northeast), Duke's Pam Bustin (South), and Louisville's Justine Sowry (West). One of the five regional winners will be named national Coach of the Year later this month.
In his sixth season at the helm of the Blue Hens, van de Kerkhof has guided Delaware to four straight CAA titles and an overall mark of 86-45 (.656). His squad finished the year ranked in the top four nationally in winning percentage, scoring average, goals per game, points per game, scoring margin and assists per game. Van de Kerkhof was the first-ever male to serve as the head coach of a NCAA Field Hockey Championship game at the Division I, II or III level.
The University of Delaware will honor the National Champion Blue Hens this Friday, December 9 with a public celebration event at the Bob Carpenter Center. The event is free and open to the public and doors will open at 4:30 p.m. with the celebration beginning at 5 p.m.
FOR MEDIA INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
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