Michele Madison Named National Coach of the Year
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Nov. 20, 2006
Virginia field hockey coach Michele Madison has been named the National Coach of the Year by womensfieldhockey.com, as announced by the organization today. Also honored were Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn, who earned first-team All-American honors, and Traci Ragukas, who was named to the National All-Rookie team.
Madison led the Cavaliers to the NCAA quarterfinals, their first berth in the tournament since 2001. Along the way, she guided Virginia to a 14-8 record against the nation’s fifth-toughest schedule. Virginia upset UNC for their first ACC win since 2001 and also defeated CAA Champion James Madison, A-10 Champion Richmond, and Big Ten Champion Iowa during the course of the campaign. Virginia moved into the top ten midway through the season and remained their the entire year for their highest finish in the national polls since 2000.
“We are all so excited for Michele,” said Biffy Cornelison, who started all 22 games for the Cavaliers in 2006. “She came in and assembled a world-class staff, and then set about helping us to maximize our potential. She has started a process, and I am looking forward to watching the team continue to grow.”
“What an honor for our program,” said Madison. “Great teams make great coaches! Great staffs make coaches of the year. On behalf of the best staff of the year and the country’s best team…I accept the honor. I would also like to thank Cathy Samaras and the staff at womensfieldhockey.com, the most credble field hockey website in our country.”
Kaars Sijpesteijn was named to the All-ACC team and the All-ACC Tournament team in her first season at Virginia after helping the Cavaliers return to the NCAA Championships. She ranked second on the team in scoring and was a key component to helping Virginia rank nationally in scoring defense.
Ragukas was named the National Rookie of the Week after her first weekend as a collegiate athlete and never looked back. She led Virginia in scoring with 15 goals and 5 assists, which ranks her fifth all-time in school history for scoring as a first year. She scored in seven consecutive games, and notched six game-winning goals. She was named to the ACC All-Tournament team as a first-year.