Nov. 4, 2004
EVANSTON, IL – Five University of Iowa field hockey players have earned all-Big Ten honors, while Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year. The announcement came at the Big Ten Field Hockey Banquet tonight at Northwestern University.
Sarah Dawson and Barb Weinberg were each named to the first team, while Debbie Birrell, Heather Schnepf and Lauren Stiver were named to the second unit.
Dawson, a senior forward from Berlin, NJ, was a unanimous selection after leading the Hawkeyes in all offensive categories, including goals (12), assists (9), points (33) and shots (46). She was a second-team selection last year.
Weinberg, a senior goalkeeper from Louisville, KY, earned her third-consecutive first team all-Big Ten laurels. A second-team NFHCA All-American last year, Weinberg has a 1.68 goals against average and a Big Ten-best .797 save percentage. She was also named Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
Birrell, a junior midfielder from Frankfort, KY, earned all-Big Ten honors for the first time. She was second on the team with 18 points off six goals and six assists.
Schnepf, a sophomore defender from Medford Lakes, NJ, was another first-time member of the all-Big Ten team. She missed the first five games with a torn ACL suffered in the spring. The Hawkeyes are 10-2 since she returned to the starting lineup.
Stiver is a four-time second team all-Big Ten selection. The senior from Amherst, NY, has played in both the backfield and midfield this season. She has seven goals and one assist, while converting on 5-of-6 penalty strokes.
Griesbaum earned her first Big Ten Coach of the Year award after leading the Hawkeyes to a 5-1 record in the conference and a share of the Big Ten Championship. It is the first conference title for Iowa since 1999.
The Hawkeyes will be the second seed in the Big Ten tournament and take on seventh-seeded Northwestern tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Evanston.