Bothner Promoted to Full-Time Head Coach of Field Hockey Program
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that head coach
Victoria Bothner of the field hockey program has been promoted to full-time after serving in a part-time capacity over the last four seasons.
Bothner, who is the team's all-time leader in coaching victories, has eclipsed the 10-win plateau in each of her four seasons at the helm while guiding the Cardinals to the postseason year-in and year-out. Since taking over the reins prior to the start of the 2014 season, Bothner's squads routinely rank among the Empire 8 Conference's top programs both offensively and defensively. In 2017, Fisher reached new heights as the Cardinals were ranked in the nation's top 20 by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association for the first time in program history.
"I am very happy that our program, and the student-athletes who are part of it will now be fully supported," commented Bothner. "I am excited to be part of the athletic department and the St. John Fisher College community in a full-time capacity and look forward to the upcoming season."
In 2017, Bothner once again had the Cardinals in elite company after playing to a 15-4 overall mark including a sixth consecutive appearance in the Empire 8 Championship. Fisher led the conference in numerous categories including goals scored (63), shots (405), scoring average (3.316) and save percentage (.822). Under Bothner's guidance, the Cardinals had six players honored by the Empire 8 at the conclusion of the season including Emily Markarian who was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Bre Socker who was tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Year. Three more would earn All-Region honors by the NFHCA. Bothner was also selected to coach the Division III Senior Select Game in Louisville, Ken.
With Bothner on the sidelines, Fisher has reached the postseason in each of the last four seasons and claimed the program's first Empire 8 Championship along with a trip to the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship in 2016. That year, the Cardinals, who strung together a Division III leading 18-game winning streak, made the most of their appearance as the team reached the Sweet 16 before capping the year with a program record 19 wins (19-3). For her efforts, Bothner received plenty of postseason recognition after being named the Empire 8 Coach of the Year. She would go on to be tabbed the North Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and ECAC North Atlantic Coach of the Year.
A two-time Mid-American All-Conference selection at Division I Miami of Ohio University, Bothner has had numerous players earn postseason recognition including Markarian who was named All-American twice in her career and concluded her time at Fisher as the program's all-time leader in goals, assists, shots and points. To date, Bothner has coached 19 All-Conference selections while Fisher has boasted the Empire 8 Player of the Year in each of the last two campaigns and has had the Conference's Rookie of the Year in three of the last four years.
Additionally, Bothner's squads have gotten the job done inside the classroom as the Cardinals were named a Division III Academic Squad in 2017 after achieving a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.30.
Field hockey will look to embark on another successful season at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 31st when it travels to Geneva to take on William Smith.
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