Gold Rush: One For The Books
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Dec. 5, 2002
By Jay Reddick
The trophy itself is smaller than you would think. It's maybe two feet tall, made mostly of wood, and it doesn't weigh all that much.
But to the players, coaches, and supporters of the Wake Forest field hockey team, it is the most precious symbol of accomplishment imaginable. For you see, this trophy reads, "2002 NCAA FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONS." And on Nov. 24, they got to hold on to that trophy for the first time, after beating Penn State 2-0 in the championship game.
The victory put coach Jennifer Averill's squad in the most select company. Only four other teams in the history of Wake Forest University have been able to call themselves the nation's best.
"To make that notch is incredible," Averill said. "You're only as good as the people who help you along the way. This university has given me a tremendous amount, and to give that back and forever have that etched in the record books is really special."
The celebration of the Deacons' victory extended from Louisville, Ky., all the way back to Winston-Salem. But it all started with the game. Kelly Doton and Heather Aughinbaugh scored goals for Wake Forest in the first 16 minutes of play, and then the defense, as it had all tournament and all season, held tough, As the clock wound down, the team's focus never wavered, until it was time to celebrate.
"It wasn't a guaranteed victory until the clock said zero," Doton said the next day. "But at five minutes, I started to realize it, and then with one minute left, I said, 'OK, we're going to win the national championship.' I just wanted that time to run down as fast as it could.
"Immediately after the game, it was just chaos, running around, hugging the players, hugging our parents, hugging Jen, everyone. It didn't really sink in until I woke up this morning. 'We won the national championship yesterday. Amazing.' My immediate reaction is just 'Wow.'"
In their fourth NCAA tournament and third Final Four, the Deacons did not allow a goal, which only Old Dominion in 1992 had previously done on the way to a title. Averill said the coaching staff tried very hard not to make that record an issue, but the players made it one.
"When we were handed the game program at the Final Four banquet, we were reading through it, and one of the players came up to me and said, 'Did you know this?' And I didn't," Averill said. "I told them, statistics are nice, but we have some broader subjects to accomplish and if that comes along, so be it. But the kids made a secret pact that that was something within their reach. They took a lot of pride in it.
"They stepped up. They saw it as a task, and they went for it. The fact that they played so incredibly united was amazing. That shows the character of this team."
The praise and accolades for WFU's new champions poured in from everywhere, including from members of the Deacons' other title-holding squads.
"I'm excited for the team, and I know they have to be excited," said Jesse Haddock, who coached the men's golf team to championships in 1974, 1975, and 1986. "Knowing the school and what it stands for, a win like that represents Wake Forest well."
Gene Hooks not only played for the team that won the NCAA baseball title in 1955, he was the athletics director when Haddock won his three titles, and also when Averill was hired in 1992.
"She fit in from her first day on campus," Hooks said, "and built that program almost from scratch. I watched them play Maryland in the ACC final on TV and thought it was pretty neat that they won it as overwhelmingly as they did.
"Winning the NCAAs is a very, very difficult thing to do, but this was certainly no fluke. It says a lot for all of them - talent, coaching, the chemistry of the group. Wake Forest can be real, real proud of them."
When Averill came to Wake Forest in 1992, the decision to fully fund the program with scholarships and, eventually, a new artificial-turf stadium had just been made. Averill's first team went 2-12-3, but she had the belief that she was building something good in Winston-Salem.
"I knew it would be a matter of time," Averill said. "I don't think I thought I could be as patient as I was. I thought it would come in five years, not 10, but I've been blessed with the conviction to believe in myself. Everybody that works with us, you see that same glow, they believe in us and what we're doing. You saw that spirit radiate from our players this weekend."
The season did not begin well for the team. Averill talked of a scrimmage loss to North Carolina in preseason that left her disheartened, then the team lost two of its first three regular-season contests. But out of those losses came hope and the seeds of a championship season.
"Against Iowa in the opener, the loss was hard, but I was really confident with the way we were playing," Averill said. "We just didn't score more points than they did. We came back the next day and beat Michigan, and that was huge. Later that week at James Madison, we played another great game and lost. (Our confidence) was an evolving process. Each game we played, we found a growth process, which is hard to do when you're winning."
And win they did. After the JMU game on Sept. 8, the team never lost again. Nineteen wins in a row, bringing with them the program's first ACC championship, and then the big prize.
"It hit me as soon as the whistle blew," Averill said. "How many coaches can say they end their season in a victory? To see the jubilation and passion of the kids, piling on one another in the celebration on the field, was really gratifying."
And then came the trophy presentation. The program's three seniors, Aughinbaugh, Lynne Shenk and Maria Whitehead, got it first, but on the plane ride home from Louisville, just about everybody got a turn.
"During the layover in Atlanta, I said, 'I'm going to carry this around,'" Doton said. "And when I did, the front of the plate (with the inscription) was facing my body, and one of the players screams, 'Turn it around!' And after that, a lot of people all over the airport were noticing and congratulating me."
That's one of the first turnarounds the Wake Forest field hockey program has gone through in its history. For the most part, it's been moving in just one direction: up.
"In hindsight, you're building for this moment," Averill said, "but to have it really come true is different. It's something you dream about, and it's a huge thrill."