FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2007 / Contact: Dwayne Hanberry, SCAC Associate Commissioner

Centre and Rhodes split major awards in 2007 All-SCAC Field Hockey voting

SEWANEE, Tenn. – Rhodes College’s Erin Atmar and Centre College’s Teresa Johnstone, the top two scorers in the league, were selected as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Offensive Co-Players-of-the-Year in exclusive voting by the league’s head field hockey coaches. In that same voting, Ann Guagliardo of Centre was named the league’s Defensive Player-of-the-Year award and Charlie Wagner of Rhodes was tabbed as the SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year.

Tom Hobbs of Centre was voted SCAC Coach-of-the-Year.

Erin Atmar, a first-year forward from Houston, Texas, leads in the league in scoring with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points. Should she hold that lead, Atmar would become the first freshman to ever lead the SCAC in scoring and her 11 goals are already the third-most in a single season in league history. Atmar has a league-high four game-winning goals for Rhodes and was a two-time SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week selection this season.

Teresa Johnstone finished second in the regular season scoring race with 24 points on nine goals and six assists. A junior forward from Louisville, Ky., Johnstone is a three-time all-SCAC selection and is the current active points leader in the league with 21 career goals and 13 career assists for 55 points – the third-most in conference history. She helped Centre to its best finish in school history.

Centre’s Ann Guagliardo, a senior goalkeeper from Louisville, Ky., had another outstanding year in goal, leading the SCAC in shutouts (5) and ranking second in both goals against average (0.99) and save percentage (0.842). Guagliardo, who is the third consecutive Centre player to earn the league’s defensive POTY award, is the first field hockey player in conference history to be named all-SCAC four times. Her poise in goal helped the Colonels to lead both the league and the Great Lakes region in fewest goals allowed (14).

Rhodes’ Charlie Wagner impressed the league’s coaches with her ability to control play in the middle of the field whether it be by carrying or distributing the ball. The first-year midfielder from Madison, N.J., started all 16 games for the Lynx and finished the regular season with five goals and four assists for 14 points. Wagner’s ability to lead and organize the attack, as well as her ability to perform well during overtime pressure, was also a factor in receiving the SCAC Newcomer award.

Tom Hobbs is in his second stint with the Centre field hockey program as he returned in 2007 after serving as the assistant coach for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) the past two seasons. At IUP, he helped the Indians to two consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in 2006. This season, Hobbs led Centre to its best record ever (12-3) which included a school-record 10-game win streak to begin the year. The Colonels are currently the highest ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.

In the overall voting, Centre and Rhodes led the way with four players each elected to the All-SCAC team. DePauw had three players selected, and Sewanee had two members voted to the team.

*Note: The SCAC recognized field hockey as an official conference sport in 2004 and all records are recorded from that point.