The Belgian will play his final year in Hawkeye defense alongside his sister Sophie.
Iowa midfielder Rocke Stribos travels around American University during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2021 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament between Iowa and American University at Grant Field in Iowa City, Friday, November 12, 2021. work to The Hawkeyes defeated the Eagles, 3-2.
Lokke Stribos is not your typical college field hockey player. The Brussels, Belgium midfielder arrived at Iowa City in the fall of 2018 and has been a mainstay ever since.
Locke started every game at left back for the 2021 team, which reached number one in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association polls and won the Big Ten regular season title. She scored her eight goals and recorded two assists for a total of 18 points in her fourth year, earning her second team All-Big Ten honors.
But the locke wasn’t over yet.
Given the impact of COVID-19 on college sports, she decided to take advantage of the additional one-year eligibility offered to all athletes in 2020-21 for a fifth season with the Hawkeyes. selected.
Although Lokke has only lived in the United States for four years, he has had a much longer relationship with the Hawkeye field hockey program. Her older sister, Mariques Rivos, was an All-She Big Ten Hawk Ifield hockey player from 2010 to 2014.
Locke said family ties initially drew her to Iowa City, where she felt an affinity with head coach Lisa Serucci and associate head coach Michael Ball.
“I visited Iowa when I was 12. [to watch Marike]and at that point, I knew I wanted to be here,” said Rokke. rice field.”
Accompanying the visit was Locke’s sister, Sophie Stribos, who participated in the Fall 2019 Hawkeye Field Hockey Program.
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Sophie said the opportunity to play together at the college level is a huge advantage for both sisters.
“I grew up playing with my sister all the time, so now it’s like we have a special connection together that no one else has on the field,” Sophie said. We don’t know anything else.It made our bond stronger and made us closer after coming to college.”
Their connections extend beyond the field. Since Sophie moved to the US in 2019, the sisters have been living together in Iowa City until this fall.
And Sophie was relieved when her sister decided to go to fifth grade. ‘ said Sophie. “She moved this semester, but we’ve been living together for the past three years, so I think it’s step by step.”
The 2021 Hawkeye Field hockey team dominated most of the regular season, winning the first 16 games of the season. However, Iowa has lost three of its four games by the end of 2021, including the first game of the Big Ten Tournament and the second contest of the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes entered the 2022 season, where he was ranked fifth in the NFHCA preseason polls.
Lokke said she had a hard time making the choice to come back, but her teammates eventually persuaded her.
“It was all teams,” said Lokke. “My experience over the past four years has been great, but it was not an easy decision.”
The sisters may have to split up after the 2022-23 school year, but they’ll be spending one more season together at Grant Field.
