Big Ten Announces 2016 Field Hockey Preseason Honors
SOURCE: BigTen.org
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Aug. 22, 2016
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2016 field hockey preseason honors on Monday, highlighted by nine All-Big Ten selections from last season.
Three first-team All-Big Ten students from the 2015 campaign headline this year’s preseason choices – Indiana’s Kate Barber, Michigan’s Sam Swenson and Penn State’s Aurelia Meijer. Preseason honorees who earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition last season include Indiana’s Noëlle Rother, Iowa’s Chandler Ackers, Maryland’s Linnea Gonzales and Welma Luus, Ohio State’s Maddy Humphrey and Rutgers’ Linde van Schaik.
Rutgers’ Alyssa Bull is a three-time Big Ten preseason honoree while Indiana’s Barber, Iowa’s Ackers and Natalie Cafone, Maryland’s Gonzales, Michigan’s Katie Trombetta, Michigan State’s Kristin Matula and Simone Vagnoni, Ohio State’s Humphrey and Rutgers’ Sofia Walia receive the distinction for the second time.
Several members of the 2016 Big Ten field hockey preseason honors list excelled academically with 14 students earning Academic All-Big Ten accolades last year. In addition, Indiana’s Morgan Dye, Michigan State’s Matula, Northwestern’s Isabel Flens and Ohio State’s Liz Tamburro were 2016 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
The 2016 season officially starts this weekend with all nine conference teams in action. Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers begin their seasons on Friday, while Iowa, Michigan and Ohio State start their campaigns on Saturday.
The complete list of 2016 Big Ten field hockey preseason honorees appears below.
2016 Big Ten Field Hockey Preseason Honors
| Name | School | Yr. | Position | Hometown |
| Kate Barber*^@ | Indiana | Sr. | Defense/Midfield | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Morgan Dye @ | Indiana | Sr. | Forward/Midfield | Powell, Ohio |
| Noëlle Rother # | Indiana | So. | Goalkeeper | Hamburg, Germany |
| Chandler Ackers*#@ | Iowa | Sr. | Defense/Midfield | White Haven, Pa. |
| Natalie Cafone | Iowa | Sr. | Forward | Fairfield, N.J. |
| Melissa Progar @ | Iowa | Jr. | Midfield | Yorktown, Va. |
| Linnea Gonzales*# | Maryland | So. | Forward/Midfield | Bel Air, Md. |
| Lein Holsboer @ | Maryland | Jr. | Midfield | Hilversum, Netherlands |
| Welma Luus #@ | Maryland | Gr. | Forward | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Bree Bednarski | Michigan | Fr. | Forward | Wyoming, Pa. |
| Sam Swenson^@ | Michigan | Jr. | Goalkeeper | Harrogate, England |
| Katie Trombetta* | Michigan | Jr. | Midfield/Defense | Holbrook, N.Y. |
| Kendal Anderson | Michigan State | Jr. | Midfield | Shaker Heights, Ohio |
| Kristin Matula*@ | Michigan State | Sr. | Midfield | Louisville, Ky. |
| Simone Vagnoni*@ | Michigan State | Jr. | Defense | Collegeville, Pa. |
| Elena Curley | Northwestern | Jr. | Midfield | Louisville, Ky. |
| Isabel Flens @ | Northwestern | Sr. | Midfield/Forward | Hattem, Netherlands |
| Dominique Masters | Northwestern | Sr. | Midfield | Canterbury, United Kingdom |
| Maddy Humphrey*# | Ohio State | Jr. | Forward/Midfield | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| Liz Tamburro @ | Ohio State | Jr. | Goalkeeper | Phoenixville, Pa. |
| Carolina Vergroesen | Ohio State | Jr. | Midfield/Defense | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Kirsten Gochnauer @ | Penn State | Sr. | Forward/Midfield | Mount Joy, Pa. |
| Aurelia Meijer^ | Penn State | So. | Midfield/Forward | Hattem, Netherlands |
| Jenny Rizzo | Penn State | So. | Goalkeeper | Hershey, Pa. |
| Alyssa Bull*@ | Rutgers | Sr. | Midfield | Oakville, Ontario |
| Linde van Schaik # | Rutgers | So. | Midfield | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Sofia Walia*@ | Rutgers | Sr. | Defense | Surrey, British Columbia |
* denotes 2015 Big Ten preseason honoree
^ denotes 2015 All-Big Ten First Team
# denotes 2015 All-Big Ten Second Team
@ denotes 2015 Academic All-Big Ten
