Hall of Fame
The 1978 field hockey team was one of the first women's varsity athletic teams to come under Norwich after the merger with Vermont College. The team posted an impressive 8-2-1 record in the regular season, highlighted by victories over Middlebury (5-1), St. Michael's College and the University of Vermont.
NU followed up the regular season with a strong showing at the Northeast College Field Hockey Tournament with a 1-1-1 record, including a win over Fitchburg State, a tie to Bates College and a loss to Providence College.
Norwich was led offensively by the quartet of Mary Jane VanKavelaar '79, Amy Prouty '81, Brenda Rockwood '80 and Kathy Burning '80. VanKavelaar scored nine goals and added six assists, while Prouty had seven goals and two assists. Rockwood posted six goals and four assists, while Burning tied VanKavelaar for the team lead fo six assists to go along with one goal.
NU Hall of Famer Joan Mussmacher was the head coach for the team and was the only head coach in the program's seven-year history at Norwich.
"This group of women served as pioneers in women's athletics," Mussmacher said. "The team played on both campuses and they were the first females who were commuting when Vermont College and Norwich merged. Athletics kept a lot of the women at school since there were very few other women."
"After we beat Middlebury, I told the team that they had made a statement at Norwich and that they set the tone for women's athletics and for the development of women's sports."
