Penny Kemp, Beth Gotton Named First Class of NFHCA Honorary Members
field hockey
Champaign, Ill. — Rowan Associate Athletic Director and former field hockey coach Penny Kemp and former Montclair State field hockey coach Beth Gotton have been named to the first class of honorary members by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).
The class of 13 includes former coaches, administrators and supporters who paved the way for the sport and the NFHCA. Inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame in 2021, Kemp and Gottung are part of a group of NFHCA Hall of Fame members, former coaches, officials, sports administrators and referees.
Penny Kemp
Kemp has been Rowan’s Associate Athletic Director and Senior Women’s Administrator since 2014 and coached the Rowan Field Hockey Team for 17 years from 1998-2014. She compiled an overall record of 253-81, the most wins in school history, and led her professors to her NCAA in 2002. The championship marked the program’s only title to date, as that team finished the year with a perfect 21-0 record.
A member of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee, Kemp is also the Tournament Director for the 2022 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship, which Rowan will host November 18-20.
During her tenure as head coach, Professor made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and three national semifinal appearances, including a run to the 2002 Championship Game. Kempf has led her professors to six of her NJAC championships, including her first program in 1998.
Kemp, who led Rowan to his 17th consecutive winning season, has 27 student-athletes with national championship honors, 53 all-regional honors, and a total of 77 professors all-conference performers in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. (NJAC).
A native of Vineland, New Jersey, she dominated coaching awards in 2002 when she was named NFHCA National Coach of the Year, South Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year and NJAC Coach of the Year. In addition, Kemp won the Conference Coach of the Year award in 1998 and 2009.
Kemp ranks ninth among all-time Division III coaches with a 75.7 winning percentage. She served on her NCAA Division III Field Hockey Committee and has also served as National Committee and South Atlantic Regional Committee Chair.
A TCNJ All-American field hockey and lacrosse player, Kemp will be inducted into the TCNJ Track and Field Hall of Fame this October. She was previously inducted into the Rowan Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.
Beth Gotton
Gottng’s career was one of the most successful coaching tenures in the history of Montclair State Sports, transforming the Red Hawks field hockey team into one of the top programs throughout Division III. In his 13 seasons, Gottong posted his overall record of 201-62. 764 winning percentage, including all five of his Montclair State appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament and his ten postseason berths overall. NJAC Coach of the Year He won MSU in 2012 and he won New Jersey in 2013 He won the Athletic He won the Conference Championship and he won three ECAC He won the Mid-Atlantic Crown led.
Gottng, who was named MSU Field Hockey’s 16th head coach in 2002, inherited a program that had a total of 27 games under .500 in its first 41 seasons. Since then, MSU has been 112 games above breakeven.
Gottong has named 45 players to the NJAC All-Conference team and has 30 of her players named All-Region while coaching 12 of the 13 All-American players in MSU history. was , and Stephanie Lewis (2013), plus Abby Aller for the 2014 NFHCA selection. MSU also placed 14 players in the NFHCA Division III Senior All-Star Game under Gottng’s watch. Her field hockey team was active in the classroom, winning several group and individual academic awards during Gottung’s tenure, and four players were named to her prestigious academic All-America team. rice field.
In 2012, Gottong led Montclair State University to one of the best seasons in not only the history of the program, but the history of the sport. The Red Hawks became the first women’s team to play in a national championship as MSU advanced to the title game of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship in Geneva, New York. Montclair completed her 20th straight win with her 22 wins and 2 losses. For two months, MSU has been unbeatable, dominating the NJAC schedule, with a 5-1 victory over previously undefeated and rank-3 defending national champions, the University of New Jersey, and in Ewing, where he is 5-1. defeated the Lions. 24 win streak. A month later, the Redhawks won her first conference championship by beating Rowan 3–0 in the title contest, earning her a second consecutive NCAA Tournament qualification.
Montclair beat Christopher Newport and Rochester in the NCAA Regionals at Salisbury to earn a ticket to the Final Four at William Smith College. The Redhawks defeated Mary Washington 4-0 in the national semifinals before falling to Tufts in the championship game. However, the loss could not detract from a season in which MSU reset their winning single-season mark when they finished second in the final NFHCA rankings. Ranked No. 1 by the NFHCA for several weeks during the campaign, Montclair achieved another first record, their second consecutive 20-win season. His 21-2 record with MSU also advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship, where he won the NJAC title for the second year in a row. Gottng has been named NFHCA South Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year for his second year in a row and his third overall.
