Peggy Boutilier and Missi Sanders Net Top Awards

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April 26, 1998

CHARLOTESVILLE, Va.–Virginia’s Peggy Boutilier (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park Country) was named the Shelia Moorman Female Student Athlete Award for the 1997-98 season and head field hockey coach Missi Sanders was named the Laura Mapp Collegiate Coaches Award recipient this afternoon in Verona, VA.

Boutilier, the 1997 National Player of the Year in lacrosse, is a two-sport athlete at the University of Virginia. She is a captain of both the field hockey and lacrosse teams, both of which have been ranked number one in their respective national polls in the 1997-98 academic year.

Boutilier, the 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in lacrosse, is a member of the 1998 ACC Championship team and was a first-team All-American in 1997. She has been a member of the All-ACC Team and the ACC All-Tournament team in both 1997 and 1998, the only years the conference has sponsored these teams. Virginia’s MVP in 1997, Boutilier is an Academic All-American in both lacrosse and field hockey.

She was a member of the 1994 ACC All-Tournament team in field hockey. In 1997, the Cavalier field hockey team advanced to the NCAA semifinals for the first time in school history. Boutilier set a school record in 1997, starting in her 88th consecutive field hockey contest for the Cavaliers.

Boutilier is enrolled in the Five Year Teacher Education Program in the University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Curry School of Education. She will graduate in May of 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and an master of teaching degree specializing in elementary education.

Sanders, the 1996 and 1997 South Regional Coach of the Year, directed the Cavaliers to a school-record 19 wins and a berth in the 1997 National Semifinals, the first such berth for Virginia. Sanders was named the ACC Coach of the Year after leading the squad to an undefeated regular season and the runner-up slot in the ACC Field Hockey Tournament. Virginia led the nation this year in scoring defense, allowing less than a goal per game and leading the nation with 11 shut outs. The team started the season with a seven-game shutout streak.

Sanders led the team to its first ranking at number one last year and this year the Cavaliers were tabbed as the nation’s top team for a second consecutive year. Virginia has not been ranked lower than fifth in the past two seasons. In Sanders’ five years at the helm of the Virginia program, the squad has achieved a 70-36 record and has set the school scoring record for the past two consecutive seasons.

Sanders is recognized on a national level as well, as she is the coaching chair for the United States Field Hockey Coaching Program. Eight Cavaliers were named to the various United States squads in 1997, including Meridith Thorpe, Michelle Vizzuso, and Lori Mastropietro, the first -ever Virginia representatives on the national teams.