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Staci Brennan |
Head Coach brennans@hood.edu (301) 696-3785 |
Staci Brennan enters her ninth season as the head field hockey coach at Hood. Brennan and the Blazers will embark on their fourth season in the Capital Athletic Conference in 2010.
Last fall, the Blazers registered five wins, the most for the program since the 2005 campaign.
Brennan served as Hood's mentor in its final five seasons in the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference. Her first three squads managed a combined six victories, but she guided a young squad featuring 13 freshmen and sophomores to the top of the AWCC in 2005. As the No. 3 seed in the AWCC tournament, Hood upset No. 2 Mary Baldwin and No. 1 Wilson by 1-0 scores to capture its second conference title in school history (the other came in 1999).
In 2005 Brennan was selected the AWCC Coach of the Year after leading Hood to the AWCC conference crown and a 7-8 finish, which more than doubled its win total (3-11) from 2004. In addition, five Blazers were named to the all-AWCC squad, led by senior goalie Cheryl Banks, who was voted the Most Outstanding Player after leading NCAA Division III with a .909 save percentage and tying for 14th in the nation with 179 saves. Banks finished her career with 874 saves to rank fourth in NCAA Division III history.
In 2006, despite falling early in the AWCC tournament, three Blazers were honored by the league. Justina Miller, Crystal Parker and Brandy Noel were all named to the all-conference first team.
Brennan also led the Blazer women's lacrosse program to renewed success in her four years as head coach from 2004-07. In the spring of 2005, Brennan guided Hood to a school-record seven wins, its first-ever AWCC championship game and a runner-up finish in the conference. She was rewarded with AWCC Coach of the Year honors as well.
Also in 2005, Tiffany Still was named the AWCC Most Outstanding Player of the Year and played in the prestigious Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association/STX Division III North-South Senior All-Star Game. That same year, Banks led NCAA Division III with 6.64 ground balls per game.
In 2006, Brennan tutored five Blazers to all-AWCC honors, led by freshman Liz Rakowski, who was chosen the AWCC Newcomer of the Year.
Brennan's student-athletes have also been lauded for their excellence in the classroom. Since 2005, a total of 17 Blazers have been named to National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Academic Squad.
Brennan, who also serves as the Hood athletic department's compliance coordinator and senior woman administrator, played field hockey for Catawba College, a NCAA Division II school in Salisbury, N.C. In her four years at Catawba she started all 63 games, was named to the All-Deep South team, received the Coaches Award and served as a co-captain her senior year.
After receiving a bachelor's degree in communication arts from Catawba in 1995, Brennan returned to Maryland to attend Towson University. Two years later she earned a master's degree in mass communications.
