Maryland Garners Big Ten Honors
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Maryland field hockey team racked up numerous honors from the Big Ten conference Wednesday. Head coach Missy Meharg was named Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Senior Sarah Sprink was named Big Ten Player of the Year and freshman Linnea Gonzales was voted Freshman of the Year.
Sprink and senior Anna Dessoye were unanimous selections to the All-Big Ten First Team. Fifth-year senior Welma Luus and Gonzales were both named to the Second Team. Senior Shari Jones earned a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Sprink has helped the Terrapins at both ends of the field. As team captain, she helped lead Maryland to a school-record five straight shutouts, while scoring nine goals and six assists this year. She was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Gonzales made an instant impact on the Terrapins this year, scoring 10 goals, including two game-winning goals, with two assists. She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors three times this season.
Dessoye led the Terrapins' midfield and attack with 30 points this season off eight goals and a Big Ten-leading 14 assists. Earlier this season, she reached the 100-career point and 50-career assist marks. She was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team last year.
Luus leads Maryland in scoring with 13 goals this season and seven in Big Ten play, including three game-winning goals. As a former dual sport student-athlete in tennis, she is a leader on Maryland's offense.
Meharg helped lead the Terrapins to their 21st conference title this season with their 8-0 record in Big Ten play. Earlier this year, she became the fourth coach in Division I history to reach the 500-win mark. This is the ninth conference Coach of the Year honor for Meharg.
Maryland is the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament this week in Bloomington, Ind. The Terrapins will play eighth-seeded Michigan State Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the first round, which will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.
Click here to get your channel number for BTN. BTN is available on all major video providers, including DIRECTV, Verizon FiOS, Comcast Xfinity, and about 300 additional video providers across North America. Fans can also watch on BTN2Go, or on the BTN's mobile app, and will be asked to enter their cable login information.
International fans will be able to watch using their BTN Plus subscriptions here.
The Big Ten Tournament semifinals will be played Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and the Big Ten Tournament championship match will be Sunday at noon. All seven matches in the Big Ten Tournament will be televised on BTN.
Tickets start at $10 for adults and are $5 for youth (18 and under) and students. Click here for the Big Ten Tournament Central page.
Maryland beat Michigan State (5-13, 2-6), 5-1, in College Park on Sept. 27. Gonzales scored twice and Luus, Carrie Hanks and Brooke Adler also scored in the victory.
Maryland picked up its 14th straight win Saturday with a 2-1 double overtime win at Iowa (9-9, 2-6) to close the regular season.
Sophomore Lein Holsboer scored the game winner in the 88th minute to seal Maryland's sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title. Freshman goalkeeper Sarah Holliday made four saves for the Terrapins.
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