In Her Wake: Maeke Boreel Paul Set to Join Wake Forest Hall of Fame
2/8/2024 9:45:00 AM | Field Hockey
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Originally from the Netherlands, Maeke (Boreel) Paul didn't arrive in Winston-Salem or step foot on the Wake Forest campus until late-summer in 2002, just a handful of weeks before the field hockey season began.
That didn't prevent her from immediately adjusting and making an impact, starting in all 90 games of her career as part of the three-peat National Championship Demon Deacons.
Ranking third all-time in program assists (54), Paul is now being inducted in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, joining husband Todd Paul as the first husband-wife duo to be recognized as Demon Deacon Hall of Famers.
While Todd was busy winning ACC Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year in 2004, future wife Maeke led the nation in assists (20) as the Demon Deacons claimed their third-straight National Championship. Living now in Connecticut with their twin 9-year old sons and 6-year old daughter, sports are a huge part of the Pauls' household.
"We're just kind of living through their athletic lives right now, which is just so much fun," Paul said. "I think overall, to be able to share that history of not only both having gone to the same school but having played sports there, it really creates a special bond. We all love sports here in this house, so there's always fantasy football to talk about, or football, basketball, soccer, to watch on TV — just a lot of sports going on."
Maeke is working with the Melissa and Doug toy company, while Todd is a tennis instructor.
"I have to be local just for the kids and everything, trying to balance everything somehow," Paul said. "Todd is still teaching tennis, which is good. The kids are not into tennis. My daughter may be into field hockey, but we're trying to keep it very, as low key as they can be. There's no pressure to do any of it as they don't want to."
Paul's journey to Wake Forest from the Netherlands started with what was at first just a one-year commitment.
"I had actually graduated from high school and was in Spain at the time for a gap year," she said. "I was an au pair there and still not exactly sure what I wanted to do after high school — what to study or where to go. So I was thinking about doing another year kind of abroad or something different. And one of my club coaches knew a coach, this is random, but at Kent State in Ohio.
"But I didn't know if a team was good, if the academics were good. I had no idea. So I was ready to go there for a year, and then at the last minute, the coach said that they need me to commit for four years. And I just couldn't because I had never been there. I'd never taken a visit. It was too much. It was one thing to commit to a year, but four years just too much. So that fell through and was very disappointing."
But that coach told Paul she did know of one spot that was still looking for players, and might be up to taking her on for just the single-season commitment. She started the conversation with Wake Forest coach Jen Averill late in the spring of 2002.
"They had four freshmen coming in at the time," Paul said. "And I said I can't commit to four years. And she was fine with that. I talked to my brother-in-law who told me Wake Forest has amazing academics. He didn't know much about the field hockey team, but he said, you have to go for it.
"I was still a little bit skeptical, but kind of pushed me over the edge and definitely wanted to do the year. So that's how I got there."
While Pauk never got to see the campus in person, Averill never actually got to see game footage of a player who has now ended up in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"She asked me to send in a tape, and with the conversion of the systems, I don't actually think she was able to watch it," Paul said. "It sounds so crazy now because now we can do anything and everything. So it was a total leap of faith for her. It was meant to be, I guess. I never took a visit. I just went for it."
So Paul showed up on campus just a few weeks before the 2002 National Championship season began, having to adjust to a new team, new culture and new country.
"We get there a few weeks before classes start for preseason, but I had never been to Winston-Salem, North Carolina," she said. "I guess you can see online what it's about. But yeah, that was it. I figured it's a year and what's the worst thing that can happen? I was excited to just play field hockey and have a different experience and yeah."
Not only did Paul exude excellence on the field of play, she also found a home at Wake Forest nearly immediately. She found a group of teammates that was extremely focused and driven toward a championship they believe had eluded them the previous two seasons.
"We really did have constant support from day one," she said. "I think my first year there were 18 girls on the team, and we all had each other's backs all the time. So there could have been, whether it's injuries or games that we lost or practices that didn't go well or schoolwork or all the things that we were trying to balance, I think what stands out is just that instant family really that we were thrown into, and I think that's the part that wins three national championships.
"It's talent, for sure. You need talent, but you're not going to get there with just talent. I think it's the character of the team, how you handle setbacks and the attitude towards practice and games. So it wasn't seamless, but we always knew that it was just this feeling I'd never had with any other team that was so determined and so ready to take on this challenge of winning ACC and national championships. I had no doubt about it. This is what we wanted to do, and I just kind of tried to take it all in and go with it."
The one year commitment quickly became four, as she shared with coach Averill her intentions shortly after a visit to campus from her parents. While Maryland had been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Demon Deacons in year's past, defeating Wake Forest in the Final Four in 2001, it was a victory over the Terrapins that vaulted them to the National Championship game in 2004. A 3-0 win over Duke two days later cemented the third-straight National Championship for the program.
"It's hard to describe, but amazing," Paul said. "What we, as a freshman class, tried to do is kind of just follow the lead of the upperclassmen. We hadn't experienced what they had in the last few years of these heartbreaking losses. I didn't know what a Maryland was, what a Duke was. I had no idea what an ACC division is. I didn't know.
"So all I could do was just focus on following their lead and doing what they were doing, and you could just tell that there was a sense of determination. I haven't seen before, and I really haven't seen after, whether it's a workplace or anything. I think it was just this common goal that we all had from starters to people that didn't play a lot to the staff, to the entire family around it. It was just exciting. It was just listening to Jen, listening to the upperclassmen, and we could feel how important this was for the program, and we knew how close we were the year before, so it was just kind of a matter of getting it done and doing all we needed to do to win the ACC and then the NCAA."
Told that she was getting a call about a recruiting effort, Wake Forest Field Hockey coach Jen Averill and athletic director John Currie joined a host of others in telling Paul the news that she had been elected to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"They totally tricked me to get on the call," she said. "They had changed the date a couple of times, which I didn't think too much of, but now I know when I hopped on the call, they said they were going to add a couple more people in there. And then Jen and athletic director John Currie got on and I got a little suspicious.
"I'm excited, honored and just happy to represent the team. This way we have another field hockey name on that wall — I'm just very excited. It feels like field hockey is not the sport that everyone always talks about, so to be able to get that recognition through these Hall of Fame inductions and be able to represent the team is a true honor."
Being able to celebrate the achievement alongside her husband Todd — also a Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame member — makes it even more special for Paul.
"Jen has always hammered this home, and this is about who came before me, and this is about the team that we had, the team after that, the program that was built," she said. "You've seen the stats, obviously I have all those stats, but it's not about that. It's about more about the field hockey program, and I know Todd feels the same way about tennis, but of course it's cool.
"The kids are excited. We truly got lucky with both of our experiences that we had. I'm honored to be up there and represent the team, but it's the program and Jen and every single player that went through it, that's really part of that accolade. To me, this is another opportunity to really recognize that team. Not only those teams, but the entire program that Jen built, and obviously all the other coaches and the entire staff has built, but I don't know if she's always gotten the credit that she deserves."
That didn't prevent her from immediately adjusting and making an impact, starting in all 90 games of her career as part of the three-peat National Championship Demon Deacons.
Ranking third all-time in program assists (54), Paul is now being inducted in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame, joining husband Todd Paul as the first husband-wife duo to be recognized as Demon Deacon Hall of Famers.
While Todd was busy winning ACC Men's Tennis Rookie of the Year in 2004, future wife Maeke led the nation in assists (20) as the Demon Deacons claimed their third-straight National Championship. Living now in Connecticut with their twin 9-year old sons and 6-year old daughter, sports are a huge part of the Pauls' household.
"We're just kind of living through their athletic lives right now, which is just so much fun," Paul said. "I think overall, to be able to share that history of not only both having gone to the same school but having played sports there, it really creates a special bond. We all love sports here in this house, so there's always fantasy football to talk about, or football, basketball, soccer, to watch on TV — just a lot of sports going on."
Maeke is working with the Melissa and Doug toy company, while Todd is a tennis instructor.
"I have to be local just for the kids and everything, trying to balance everything somehow," Paul said. "Todd is still teaching tennis, which is good. The kids are not into tennis. My daughter may be into field hockey, but we're trying to keep it very, as low key as they can be. There's no pressure to do any of it as they don't want to."
Paul's journey to Wake Forest from the Netherlands started with what was at first just a one-year commitment.
"I had actually graduated from high school and was in Spain at the time for a gap year," she said. "I was an au pair there and still not exactly sure what I wanted to do after high school — what to study or where to go. So I was thinking about doing another year kind of abroad or something different. And one of my club coaches knew a coach, this is random, but at Kent State in Ohio.
"But I didn't know if a team was good, if the academics were good. I had no idea. So I was ready to go there for a year, and then at the last minute, the coach said that they need me to commit for four years. And I just couldn't because I had never been there. I'd never taken a visit. It was too much. It was one thing to commit to a year, but four years just too much. So that fell through and was very disappointing."
But that coach told Paul she did know of one spot that was still looking for players, and might be up to taking her on for just the single-season commitment. She started the conversation with Wake Forest coach Jen Averill late in the spring of 2002.
"They had four freshmen coming in at the time," Paul said. "And I said I can't commit to four years. And she was fine with that. I talked to my brother-in-law who told me Wake Forest has amazing academics. He didn't know much about the field hockey team, but he said, you have to go for it.
"I was still a little bit skeptical, but kind of pushed me over the edge and definitely wanted to do the year. So that's how I got there."
While Pauk never got to see the campus in person, Averill never actually got to see game footage of a player who has now ended up in the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"She asked me to send in a tape, and with the conversion of the systems, I don't actually think she was able to watch it," Paul said. "It sounds so crazy now because now we can do anything and everything. So it was a total leap of faith for her. It was meant to be, I guess. I never took a visit. I just went for it."
So Paul showed up on campus just a few weeks before the 2002 National Championship season began, having to adjust to a new team, new culture and new country.
"We get there a few weeks before classes start for preseason, but I had never been to Winston-Salem, North Carolina," she said. "I guess you can see online what it's about. But yeah, that was it. I figured it's a year and what's the worst thing that can happen? I was excited to just play field hockey and have a different experience and yeah."
Not only did Paul exude excellence on the field of play, she also found a home at Wake Forest nearly immediately. She found a group of teammates that was extremely focused and driven toward a championship they believe had eluded them the previous two seasons.
"We really did have constant support from day one," she said. "I think my first year there were 18 girls on the team, and we all had each other's backs all the time. So there could have been, whether it's injuries or games that we lost or practices that didn't go well or schoolwork or all the things that we were trying to balance, I think what stands out is just that instant family really that we were thrown into, and I think that's the part that wins three national championships.
"It's talent, for sure. You need talent, but you're not going to get there with just talent. I think it's the character of the team, how you handle setbacks and the attitude towards practice and games. So it wasn't seamless, but we always knew that it was just this feeling I'd never had with any other team that was so determined and so ready to take on this challenge of winning ACC and national championships. I had no doubt about it. This is what we wanted to do, and I just kind of tried to take it all in and go with it."
The one year commitment quickly became four, as she shared with coach Averill her intentions shortly after a visit to campus from her parents. While Maryland had been a proverbial thorn in the side of the Demon Deacons in year's past, defeating Wake Forest in the Final Four in 2001, it was a victory over the Terrapins that vaulted them to the National Championship game in 2004. A 3-0 win over Duke two days later cemented the third-straight National Championship for the program.
"It's hard to describe, but amazing," Paul said. "What we, as a freshman class, tried to do is kind of just follow the lead of the upperclassmen. We hadn't experienced what they had in the last few years of these heartbreaking losses. I didn't know what a Maryland was, what a Duke was. I had no idea what an ACC division is. I didn't know.
"So all I could do was just focus on following their lead and doing what they were doing, and you could just tell that there was a sense of determination. I haven't seen before, and I really haven't seen after, whether it's a workplace or anything. I think it was just this common goal that we all had from starters to people that didn't play a lot to the staff, to the entire family around it. It was just exciting. It was just listening to Jen, listening to the upperclassmen, and we could feel how important this was for the program, and we knew how close we were the year before, so it was just kind of a matter of getting it done and doing all we needed to do to win the ACC and then the NCAA."
Told that she was getting a call about a recruiting effort, Wake Forest Field Hockey coach Jen Averill and athletic director John Currie joined a host of others in telling Paul the news that she had been elected to the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"They totally tricked me to get on the call," she said. "They had changed the date a couple of times, which I didn't think too much of, but now I know when I hopped on the call, they said they were going to add a couple more people in there. And then Jen and athletic director John Currie got on and I got a little suspicious.
"I'm excited, honored and just happy to represent the team. This way we have another field hockey name on that wall — I'm just very excited. It feels like field hockey is not the sport that everyone always talks about, so to be able to get that recognition through these Hall of Fame inductions and be able to represent the team is a true honor."
Being able to celebrate the achievement alongside her husband Todd — also a Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame member — makes it even more special for Paul.
"Jen has always hammered this home, and this is about who came before me, and this is about the team that we had, the team after that, the program that was built," she said. "You've seen the stats, obviously I have all those stats, but it's not about that. It's about more about the field hockey program, and I know Todd feels the same way about tennis, but of course it's cool.
"The kids are excited. We truly got lucky with both of our experiences that we had. I'm honored to be up there and represent the team, but it's the program and Jen and every single player that went through it, that's really part of that accolade. To me, this is another opportunity to really recognize that team. Not only those teams, but the entire program that Jen built, and obviously all the other coaches and the entire staff has built, but I don't know if she's always gotten the credit that she deserves."
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