FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The American International field hockey team will be led by an alumna this upcoming season, as Director of Athletics Matthew Johnson announced the hiring of 2011 graduate Rhonwen Peters as the 12th head coach in the program's history.
"We are extremely excited to be bringing one of our own back home. Rhonwen Peters was a competitive athlete, a high academic achiever and a model citizen throughout campus during her four years as a Yellow Jacket. She comes from a winning program and has worked under a Hall of Fame coach at William Smith College for the past three years," Johnson said.
"Rhonwen comes highly recommended and is passionate about returning to her alma mater to lead the field hockey program. She knows what AIC is about, understands the challenges and has embraced the opportunity to make a difference. We can't wait for her to get started."
Peters, who graduated from AIC with a Bachelor's of Science in psychology, was one of the captains of the 2010 squad that set the program wins record with 14 victories, and was the first in Yellow Jackets history to reach the Northeast-10 and NCAA Tournaments.
She played in all 78 games the team competed in from the start of 2007 through the 2010 season, starting all but one, scoring six goals and adding a dozen assists as a midfielder. She was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll for both the fall and spring semesters in her junior and senior years.
"First, I would like to thank Athletic Director Matt Johnson and the search committee for giving me the opportunity to return to American International College as the Head Field Hockey Coach. His vision for AIC Athletics is something I am very excited to be a part of and I look forward to working with a great group of coaches, administrators and student-athletes." Peters said. "It's an honor to return to my alma mater and I am eager to guide the team to success both on and off the field. I have experienced firsthand what a special place AIC is, and there is no one more passionate about being the head coach of this program than I am."
After graduating from AIC in 2011, Peters was named an assistant coach at Muhlenberg College in 2012, where she spent three seasons, helping improve the program in each year she was on the staff, culminating with the Mules making an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the first time in six years.
She has spent the last three seasons as the assistant coach at William Smith College, helping guide the Herons to back-to-back Liberty League Tournaments, winning the championship in 2015. During Peters' tenure at William Smith, the team compiled a 41-17 record.
Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at American International
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The NE10 is an association of 15 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
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