University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Rutgers
No. 5 Huskies Open NCAA Tournament Play vs. No. 11 Rutgers
11/7/2018 4:46:00 PM | Field Hockey
STORRS, Conn. – The No. 5 UConn field hockey team (18-3) opens NCAA Tournament play in the First Round against No. 11 Rutgers (13-5) Friday at 2:30 p.m. in College Park, Md.
TOURNEY TIME
UConn is making its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies have made 15 Final Four appearances and won five national championships in the program's history.
LAST TIME OUT
UConn won its seventh straight BIG EAST Tournament championship, taking down No. 15 Liberty 5-3. Svea Boker, Amanda Collins, Amelia Iacobucci, Cecile Pieper and Cheyenne Sprecher were named to the All-Tournament Team while Pieper was named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
STEVENS EARNS 500TH UCONN WIN
Head coach Nancy Stevens posted her 500th career win in the BIG EAST Tournament championship last weekend. The all-time winningest coach in Division I, Stevens holds a 680-184-24 career record.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Huskies rank No. 5 in this week's Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll. UConn is No. 4 in the most recent NCAA RPI. The Huskies are 8-3 vs. ranked teams this season.
UCONN-RUTGERS HISTORY
The Huskies are 27-2-1 all-time vs. Rutgers. The teams last faced off on Sept. 22, 2013, when the Huskies won 2-0.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Rutgers is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986. The Scarlet Knights went 4-4 in Big Ten Play.
The team is led offensively by Daphne Groothuis, who has 12 goals, 13 assists and 37 points. Gianna Glatz has played every game in goal and holds a 1.05 goals-against average and a .811 save percentage. The Scarlet Knights are 4-5 vs. ranked teams this season.
HUSKIES EARN BIG EAST HONORS
UConn raked in numerous BIG EAST end-of-season honors this week. Cecile Pieperwas named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year while Cheyenne Sprecherwas tabbed Freshman of the Year. Nancy Stevens, Paul Caddy and Cheri Schulz were tabbed the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Pieper and Sprecher were joined on the All-BIG EAST First Team by Svea Boker, Amanda Collins and Amelia Iacobucci. Antonia Tiedkte was named All-BIG EAST Second Team.
BIG EAST DOMINANCE
The Huskies are once again the top team in the BIG EAST. UConn has gone undefeated in conference play for five straight seasons and the team is on a 32-game win streak in regular season conference play, dating back to Oct. 25, 2013. UConn has won 18 BIG EAST regular season titles and 18 conference tournament titles. The Huskies have won the last five regular season and the last seven tournament BIG EAST championships.
