| Michele Madison |
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Head coach Michele Madison returns for her seventh season at the helm of the Cavalier field hockey program. She has led UVa to the NCAA Tournament five of her six seasons in Charlottesville, including national semifinals appearances in 2009 and 2010.
Two of Madison's All-Americans at Virginia, Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese, helped the U.S. National Team to its first gold medal at the Pan American Games in October 2011. The duo is in contention for a spot on Team USA's roster for the 2012 London Olympics.
The Cavaliers returned to the NCAA semifinals in 2010 after beating Michigan State (3-2 in overtime) and Princeton (4-2) to join Maryland, North Carolina and Ohio State in the national semifinals. Virginia finished the season ranked No. 3 by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Virginia made its third trip to the NCAA semifinals in 2009 under Madison, defeating Richmond and Michigan State (in overtime) en route to a final four berth. The Cavaliers also advanced to the championship game of the ACC Tournament, playing for the conference title on their home field. The team set records for wins (20) and games played (24) in a season.
Madison, a member of the NCAA National Field Hockey Committee, is in her 24th overall season as a collegiate head coach. She is the only person to take three different Division I programs (Temple, Michigan State and Virginia) to the NCAA Tournament and her teams have consistently been ranked in the top-10 at various times of the past decade. In addition to her experience in the college ranks, Madison also is the only active Division I head coach to be a part of two United States Olympic staffs, having assisted the 1988 Olympic Team in Seoul and served as the head goalkeeper coach with the 1996 squad in Atlanta.
UVa's Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese were both named to the United States National Team in the summer of 2010 and earned their first international caps in matches with the English and Irish national teams that summer. They continue to represent Team USA, have since competed at multiple Four Nations tournaments, the Champions Challenge and the Pan American Games.
Selenski and Vittese were each named first-team All-Americans by the NFHCA in 2010 and teammate Elly Buckley was a third-team honoree, marking the second consecutive year three Cavaliers earned the distinction of All-American. Additionally, Virginia placed seven student-athletes on the all-region team, including a school record four first-team members (Buckley, Selenski, Vittese and Rachel Jennings). Buckley was also selected to the national all-rookie team, named by womensfieldhockey.com, becoming the sixth Virginia named to the squad under Madison.
In 2009, three Cavaliers were named NFHCA All-Americans, including Selenski (first team), Inga Stockel (second team) and Vittese (third team) Selenski, a two-time Honda Award semifinalist, joined Stockel and Vittese on the All-ACC team. For the second straight year, Virginia put five members on the all-region squad and Charlotte van den Broek was honored as part of the national all-rookie team.
During the 2008 campaign, Virginia returned to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and freshman Paige Selenski made program history, becoming the first Cavalier to be named the National Rookie of the Year. UVa finished the season with a No. 12 ranking, had two All-Americans and All-ACC selections in senior Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn and Selenski, and had five team members picking up all-region honors, with freshmen Michelle Vittese and Floor Vogels as well as junior Traci Ragukas joining Kaars Sijpesteijn and Selenski. Virginia also continued to put at least one member on the national all-rookie team for the third time in program history. Selenski and Vittese, who both represented the United States at the Junior World Cup in Boston, were named to the squad.
In 2007, Madison helped lead Virginia to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. UVa was ranked eighth in the nation to start the year, and Ragukas and Kaars Sijpesteijn were both named to the NFHCA second-team all-region squad. Kaars Sijpesteijn additionally received All-America and All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season. Also for the second straight year, Virginia had a member selected to the National All-Rookie squad in first-year Shelly Edmonds.
In her first year in Charlottesville, Madison orchestrated Virginia's return to the top-10 and was named the 2006 National Coach of the Year by womensfieldhockey.com. That year, Virginia rose to as high as No. 4 in the nation and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament before ending the season with a 14-8 record against the nation's fifth-toughest schedule. Madison coached Kaars Sijpesteijn to first-team All-America honors, Virginia's first first-team All-American since 1998. She also mentored Ragukas to National Rookie Team recognition, the first such honor for a Cavalier in school history.
The former head coach at Michigan State from 1993-2005, Madison led the Spartans to their first-ever No. 1 ranking. Michigan State advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times, including two NCAA semifinal berths (2002, 2004) and two quarterfinal appearances (2001, 2003) during her tenure in East Lansing. Madison, named the 2001 Big Ten Coach of the Year, also guided the Spartans to back-to-back conference titles in 2001 and 2002. During the 2002 season, she picked up another coaching honor, being tabbed the the West Region Coach of the Year. Madison left Michigan State as the school's all-time leader in victories.
The Philadelphia native spent four seasons as the head coach at Temple prior to her appointment at Michigan State. At Temple, she took the team to national championship contention in just her second year at the helm. During Madison's tenure, the Owls compiled a 53-27-6 record and appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, twice advancing to the quarterfinals. Temple also won the A-10 Conference Tournament Championship in 1991.
Madison additionally served a two-year (1989-90) stint as the assistant coach for the Owl women's lacrosse team that advanced to the NCAA Semifinals both seasons. During her stay in Philadelphia, Madison coached 12 All-Americans, 21 all-region selections, three Academic All-Americans, two National Team members and one Honda Broderick award winner.
Prior to her position at Temple, Madison served as an assistant coach at Iowa for seven seasons (1982-89). During that span, the Hawkeyes advanced to the Final Four four times and captured their only NCAA championship ti tle in 1986.
A former member of the U.S. Field Hockey Board of Directors and the United States Field Hockey Foundation, Madison has been integrally involved in the U.S. Field Hockey community. In addition to her stint with the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Teams, she was an assistant coach at the 1994 World Cup in which the United States won the bronze, their highest finish in history.
She also served as a notational analyst for the 1998 World Cup in Utrecht for England. Madison, who spent two and a half years on the coaching staff for the U.S. National Team, served as head coach on the 2003 U.S. Under-20 team, after coaching at the prestigious "A" camp for the U.S. Junior National Team trials. In the spring of 2002, Madison assisted the U.S. National Team at the Champions Challenge in South Africa. In the summer of 2005, Madison was named to the USFHA Board of Directors and was part of the advisory committee that made the decision to hire Terry Walsh, the Technical Director of High Performance for USA Field Hockey.
Madison has also coached the Midwest Cyclones of the United Airlines Field Hockey League, leading the team to runner-up finishes in the championship game in 2000 and 2001.
Madison is a 1982 physical education graduate of Rutgers University, where she played field hockey and lacrosse. She earned her master's degree in athletic administration from Iowa in 1984. Madison was inducted into the Gloucester County (N.J.) Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Williamstown (N.J.) High School Hall of Fame in 1992.
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