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Teams: Field Hockey: Team
Overview
 The
2008 Tufts University Field Hockey team looks to continue its momentum
after one of the most successful seasons in the program's history. Coach
Tina McDavitt's team tied the record for wins in a season with 13,
earned the program's first NCAA Tournament victory and finished with the
#15 ranking in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA)
poll last year.
Tufts has advanced to the top of the competitive New England Small
College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in four years under Coach McDavitt.
Their 24-10 record in the last two years represents the best
back-to-back seasons in over a decade. The 2007 team won 11 games,
defeated nationally-ranked Division II opponent Bentley College and
earned the program's first home-field berth into the conference
tournament. Last fall, the Jumbos defeated NESCAC power Middlebury
College for the first time since 1985 and finished second in the league
behind eventual national champion Bowdoin College. They earned the
program's first NCAA berth since 1998 and won their opening game 6-0
against New England College.
The team has made a dramatic improvement offensively under Coach
McDavitt. They broke the school record for goals in a season with 52
last fall. Senior Ileana Casellas-Katz had the most prolific
single-season in the team's 34-year history, scoring 18 goals and 41
points. Margi Scholtes' 11 assists last fall were the second-most in
team history. Always strong on defense, the Jumbo program has kept pace
under Coach McDavitt with 28 shutouts in four seasons.
A 2000 Boston University graduate, McDavitt was hired as the sixth
coach of Tufts Field Hockey in June 2004. At BU, she was a four-year
standout and captain of the 1999 team. She led the Terriers to an
undefeated America East Conference championship that season. An
assistant at Holy Cross prior to Tufts, McDavitt won two Massachusetts
state championships with the Walpole High School team in 1994 and 1995.
She was the Regional Coaching Director for USA Field Hockey's Futures
Program from 2003-06. Still an active player, McDavitt is a member of US
Field Hockey's national indoor team. She won the silver medal at the Pan
Am Games in December 2005.
The team's success under McDavitt has added to the winning history of
a Tufts program that was established in 1974. The Jumbos enjoyed many
successes with former coach Carol Rappoli at the helm. Her teams won 155
games in 19 seasons, made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1995,
and won ECAC championships in 1996 and 1989.
As members of the NESCAC, Tufts plays in the nation's most
competitive small college conference academically and athletically. The
NESCAC is a group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and
universities that share an academics-first philosophy for
intercollegiate athletics. Tufts was a recipient of the 2007 NFHCA
National Academic Team Award as a program with better than a 3.0
cumulative grade point average. Additionally, 15 Jumbos were named to
the NFHCA National Academic Squad with grade point averages of 3.3 or
better during the Fall 2007 semester.
Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded
collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque
small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented
diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and
talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The
Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is
among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished
15th in the 2008 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, the award presented
annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the
country. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for
its academic institutions is also a major draw.
Tufts opened a new field turf stadium, Bello Field, in 2004 and have
a 26-8 record at the facility. In May 2008, the team took a two-week
tour of South Africa, visiting three cities, playing three games against
international competition and experiencing the "adventure capital of the
world." The Jumbos are involved in the community, holding a clinic for
the Big Sisters of Boston each summer among other activities.
Craig Rowe and Dani Ryder will be McDavitt's assistant coaches this
fall. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Rowe played Division I and
State Representative hockey. Now in his third season working with the
Jumbos, Rowe is also the Regional Coaching Director for the Futures
Program in Massachusetts. Throughout the summer he directs and coaches
at the Champions Edge Camps under Princeton coach Kristen Holmes-Winn. A
newcomer to the staff, Ryder is a 2008 graduate of Stonehill College who
posted 29 shutouts during her career as a goaltender for the Skyhawks.
She was a two-time Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference honoree.
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