Jan. 13, 2010

Gallery

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland head coach Missy Meharg was inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Hall of Fame last weekend in the Association's annual ceremony. Junior Katie O'Donnell accepted the 2009 Field Hockey Honda Sports Award Sunday evening at the men's basketball game against Florida State.

Meharg was inducted Saturday afternoon at the ceremony held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. She was inducted along with Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill and Sally Scatton, head coach at William Smith College.

Meharg, a 1985 graduate of Delaware, has led the Terrapins to five NCAA titles in her 22-year career, including three crowns in four years from 2005-08, and eight ACC Championships. The seven-time NFHCA Coach of the Year and five-time ACC Coach of the Year, owns an overall record of 390-101-9. One of the most successful coaches in history, she has led the Maryland field hockey program to 11 NCAA semifinal appearances, including seven in the NCAA Finals round.

Her program has produced five Honda Awards won by four players, including four in the last five years. She has coached 41 All-Americans, with 14 of them earning the honor three or more years. Nine student-athletes under Meharg have earned ACC Player of the Year honors. Paula Infante won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2005 and 2006, while current Terrapin junior Katie O'Donnell has won the Offensive Player of the Year award the last three seasons.

Four former Terps earned spots on the U.S. National team in the Beijing Olympics and a fifth served as an alternate. Terrapin athletes have played on their respective national teams from eight countries around the world: England, Ireland, Chile, Holland, Germany, Australia, Zimbabwe, Scotland.

Meharg served on the U.S. National Team coaching staff from 1993-1997. She assisted in the 1994 World Cup, the 1995 Pan American Games and the 1996 Olympics. Meharg is a 2010 USA Under 21 squad coaching staff member and has worked with International teams in the ages of Under-21 and Under-18. She currently holds a USA hockey level 3 coaching accreditation. Meharg has created seven teaching tapes and DVDs for Championship Productions.

Academics are an important part of Meharg's Maryland hockey program as well. Over 85 Maryland players have earned spots on the ACC's Honor Roll and 56 Terrapins have been named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's Academic Squad.

O'Donnell won the Honda Award for her outstanding performance in the 2009 season. Voted on by over a 1,000 NCAA member schools across the nation, the award automatically nominates her for the Honda Broderick Cup, an award given to the nation's top female collegiate athlete.

Earlier this month, O'Donnell was named the nation's Offensive Most Valuable Player for the second straight year, and National Player of the Year, both by womensfieldhockey.com. O'Donnell was named an NFHCA First Team All-American for the third consecutive year and the All-Mid Atlantic Region Player of the Year. She led the nation in points (87) and assists (31). O'Donnell finished the year ranked second in the ACC in goals (28), only behind teammate Nicole Muracco (31).

In November, she was named the ACC's Offensive Player of the Year award, also for the third consecutive year, and earned the honor of ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player for her performance in the Terrapins' march to the ACC Championship.

Over the course of the 2009 season, O'Donnell broke an unprecedented number of school, conference, and national records. She became the school's single-season (87) and career points leader (208). She broke the ACC and Maryland career assist records and now has 74 career assists. O'Donnell is the first player in Maryland history to break 25 goals and 30 assists in a season.

With her performance this year, she earned her 200th point, making her the 24th player in NCAA history to break the 200-point mark. In the NCAA semifinals round, she recorded a new Tournament record - nine points in a championship round game.

Internationally, O'Donnell has been a member of the U.S. Senior National team since 2005 and was the youngest player ever to record a cap for a U.S. team. She competed with fellow Terps Brianna Davies and Alexis Pappas in the Junior World Cup games this past summer.

O'Donnell is an elementary education major and a recipient of the Bob and Carol Baker Director's Circle Scholarship. In the 2008-09 academic year, she earned spots on both the ACC's honor roll and the Maryland honor roll. In October, she was featured as the cover story in the fall 2009 edition of NCAA's Champions magazine.