Old Dominion University Women's Field Hockey

Griffiths picked up his 100th career win as a head coach with a victory over William & Mary on Sept. 11, 2015. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ YEAR-BY-YEAR AT OLD DOMINION _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2015 || The Lady Monarchs finished the 2015 season with a 9-10 overall record and defeated five nationally ranked teams, taking down No. 7 Penn State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 19 James Madison and No. 5 UVA. At the conclusion of the season, Griffiths had five players earn all-conference honors, while three went on to earn NFHCA All-Region accolades. Sarah Breen was also named a Second Team Longstreth/NFHCA All-American for the third time under Griffiths.  2014 || In Griffiths' second season at the helm, he led the program to its 27th conference tournament. The Lady Monarchs finished the season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the league, ending the regular season ranked 18th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. Six members earned BIG EAST honors, while Kelsey Smither, Sarah Breen and Rosario Villagra were named All-Americans. Smither, along with freshmen Danielle Grega, Carrie Sensenig and Kelly Weaver were also named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. Smither ended her career with the NFHCA Scholar Athlete of the Year award and was named the Alumni Associations Female Athlete of the Year at the annual ODU Athletics Banquet. 2013 || In his first season as head coach with Old Dominion, Griffiths helped ODU to their first BIG EAST regular season title. During the season, ODU won 12 straight games (longest since 2011) en route to an NCAA at-large berth and fourth-straight NCAA appearance. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRIOR TO OLD DOMINION _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From 2005-2007, Griffiths served as the associate head coach at Boston College leading the Eagles to a ranking of No. 4 in the nation during the 2006 season. He was also an assistant coach at the University of Maryland in 1998-99 and from 2001-2004. The Terps won the NCAA title in 1999, made Final Four appearances in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and had two Honda Award winners during his tenure. His head coaching career began at Lafayette College where he was at the helm of the program for six years. Under Griffiths' leadership, Lafayette won back-to-back Patriot League titles in 2011 and 2012 and his teams competed in the conference championship game in five of his six seasons. His 2012 team was ranked as high as 11th nationally, and Griffiths was named the Division I National Coach of the Year by Synapse Sports and the USFHA Mideast Region Coach of the Year. The win-loss record at Lafayette improved to a 73-46 mark in his six years, following a three-year record of 16-39 prior to his arrival in 2007. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OTHER COACHING VENTURES _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Internationally, Griffiths is well known, having served as an assistant coach for the USA under 21 women's national squad from 2004 - 2011. He served as an assistant coach to the USA Senior women's national team in 2003-04 and was a consultant to the Canadian men's national field hockey team for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He currently holds a USFHA level 3 coaching accreditation, the highest level available domestically. After graduating in 1994 in English from Western Ontario University in London, Ontario, Griffiths joined the coaching staff of his alma mater. He helped the team to the top 10 of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) for the first time in school history. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PLAYING CAREER _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Griffiths played internationally as a member of the Canadian men's national team, appearing in 214 international games, including the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, as well as in three Pan American Games and two World Cup competitions. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OFF THE FIELD _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Griffiths earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. He and his wife Tara, a former field hockey player at Quinnipiac College, are the parents of sons Aidan and Owen. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT COACH GRIFFITHS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Andrew will grow and develop the Old Dominion Field Hockey Program. He has a healthy respect for our program and he is a great leader and teacher. The players can be very confident in their direction. I also want to welcome his family to our program, as they will have my unconditional support. I wish them all the best." - Former ODU Head Coach Beth Anders "Andrew respects the tradition and shares the core values of the Old Dominion field hockey program. He brings a passion for the sport and a tremendous mind for the game. As an alumnus of the program, I am excited to see Andrew chart the future path of Old Dominion field hockey. " - Rhodes Scholar recipient Samantha Salvia "We had the luxury of following a number of head coaches this past fall as we knew we would be in a search to replace Beth Anders at the conclusion of the season. We were fortunate to attract such strong interest in our women's field hockey vacancy and we are very pleased to announce Andrew Griffiths has accepted our offer to become just the fourth head coach in the history of our program. Andrew has enjoyed great success at every institution he has been. He has an impeccable resume and is one of the most respected head coaches in field hockey. Our goal at ODU remains to win our tenth national championship in field hockey and Coach Griffiths positions us extremely well to accomplish that goal." - ODU Athletic Director Dr. Wood Selig   Andrew Griffiths finished his third year at the helm of the Old Dominion field hockey program in 2015 after being named the fourth head coach in school history in December 2012. With over 15 years of NCAA coaching experience, Griffiths picked up his 100th career win as a head coach with a victory over William & Mary on Sept. 11, 2015. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ YEAR-BY-YEAR AT OLD DOMINION _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2015 || The Lady Monarchs finished the 2015 season with a 9-10 overall record and defeated five nationally ranked teams, taking down No. 7 Penn State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 19 James Madison and No. 5 UVA. At the conclusion of the season, Griffiths had five players earn all-conference honors, while three went on to earn NFHCA All-Region accolades. Sarah Breen was also named a Second Team Longstreth/NFHCA All-American for the third time under Griffiths.  2014 || In Griffiths' second season at the helm, he led the program to its 27th conference tournament. The Lady Monarchs finished the season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the league, ending the regular season ranked 18th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. Six members earned BIG EAST honors, while Kelsey Smither, Sarah Breen and Rosario Villagra were named All-Americans. Smither, along with freshmen Danielle Grega, Carrie Sensenig and Kelly Weaver were also named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction. Smither ended her career with the NFHCA Scholar Athlete of the Year award and was named the Alumni Associations Female Athlete of the Year at the annual ODU Athletics Banquet. 2013 || In his first season as head coach with Old Dominion, Griffiths helped ODU to their first BIG EAST regular season title. During the season, ODU won 12 straight games (longest since 2011) en route to an NCAA at-large berth and fourth-straight NCAA appearance. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRIOR TO OLD DOMINION _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ From 2005-2007, Griffiths served as the associate head coach at Boston College leading the Eagles to a ranking of No. 4 in the nation during the 2006 season. He was also an assistant coach at the University of Maryland in 1998-99 and from 2001-2004. The Terps won the NCAA title in 1999, made Final Four appearances in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and had two Honda Award winners during his tenure. His head coaching career began at Lafayette College where he was at the helm of the program for six years. Under Griffiths' leadership, Lafayette won back-to-back Patriot League titles in 2011 and 2012 and his teams competed in the conference championship game in five of his six seasons. His 2012 team was ranked as high as 11th nationally, and Griffiths was named the Division I National Coach of the Year by Synapse Sports and the USFHA Mideast Region Coach of the Year. The win-loss record at Lafayette improved to a 73-46 mark in his six years, following a three-year record of 16-39 prior to his arrival in 2007. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OTHER COACHING VENTURES _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Internationally, Griffiths is well known, having served as an assistant coach for the USA under 21 women's national squad from 2004 - 2011. He served as an assistant coach to the USA Senior women's national team in 2003-04 and was a consultant to the Canadian men's national field hockey team for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He currently holds a USFHA level 3 coaching accreditation, the highest level available domestically. After graduating in 1994 in English from Western Ontario University in London, Ontario, Griffiths joined the coaching staff of his alma mater. He helped the team to the top 10 of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CIAU) for the first time in school history. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PLAYING CAREER _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Griffiths played internationally as a member of the Canadian men's national team, appearing in 214 international games, including the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, as well as in three Pan American Games and two World Cup competitions. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ OFF THE FIELD _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Griffiths earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. He and his wife Tara, a former field hockey player at Quinnipiac College, are the parents of sons Aidan and Owen. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT COACH GRIFFITHS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Andrew will grow and develop the Old Dominion Field Hockey Program. He has a healthy respect for our program and he is a great leader and teacher. The players can be very confident in their direction. I also want to welcome his family to our program, as they will have my unconditional support. I wish them all the best." - Former ODU Head Coach Beth Anders "Andrew respects the tradition and shares the core values of the Old Dominion field hockey program. He brings a passion for the sport and a tremendous mind for the game. As an alumnus of the program, I am excited to see Andrew chart the future path of Old Dominion field hockey. " - Rhodes Scholar recipient Samantha Salvia "We had the luxury of following a number of head coaches this past fall as we knew we would be in a search to replace Beth Anders at the conclusion of the season. We were fortunate to attract such strong interest in our women's field hockey vacancy and we are very pleased to announce Andrew Griffiths has accepted our offer to become just the fourth head coach in the history of our program. Andrew has enjoyed great success at every institution he has been. He has an impeccable resume and is one of the most respected head coaches in field hockey. Our goal at ODU remains to win our tenth national championship in field hockey and Coach Griffiths positions us extremely well to accomplish that goal." - ODU Athletic Director Dr. Wood Selig  

Swensen, an accomplished player both collegiately and nationally, works primarily with ODU's goalkeeping unit and focus on the team's defensive strategy. The Lady Monarchs finished the 2015 season with a 9-10 overall record, but defeated five natinally ranked teams during the season. ODU took down No. 7 Penn State, No. 19 Michigan State, No. 8 Wake Forest, No. 19 James Madison and No. 5 UVA. At the end of the season, Swensen helped mentor freshman goalkeeper Kealsie Robles to a Second Team All-Region selection.  During her second season as an assistant coach with Old Dominion, Swensen helped the Lady Monarchs finish the season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the league, ending the regular season ranked 18th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. In her first season as an assistant coach at Old Dominion, Swensen helped ODU to their first Big East regular season title. During the 2013 season ODU won 12 straight games (longest since 2011) on route to an NCAA at-large berth and fourth straight NCAA appearance. The Grantville, Pa. native has over 10 years of international playing experience. After excelling as members of the U-20, U-21 and U-23 squads, Swensen played for the United States National Team from 2003-2012. She was a member of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams and has been named All-World Goalie. She started five games for the U.S., going 4-1, at the Pan American Cup in 2004. In 2006, she was named World Cup Goalkeeper of the Tournament as she collected three shutouts in World Cup play (Japan, Korea and Germany) to help the U.S. to a sixth place finish. In 2007, Swensen was named to the Pan American Elite Team. Swensen was a four-year starter and two-time All-American at the University of North Carolina from 1999-2002. She posted a remarkable 1.03 goals against average as a freshman in 1999. In 2000, she was named to the NFHCA All-America First Team and was an All-ACC pick. Swensen led UNC to a runner-up finish at the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Swensen and the Tar Heels fell victim to Old Dominion, dropping a 3-1 decision. Swensen recorded seven shutouts and owned a 1.13 goals against average during her sophomore campaign.

Barrett helped the Lady Monarchs finish the season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-1 mark in the league, ending the regular season ranked 18th in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. In her first season as an assistant coach with Old Dominion, Barrett helped ODU to their first BIG EAST regular season title. During the 2013 season ODU won 12 straight games (longest since 2011) on route to an NCAA at-large berth and fourth straight NCAA appearance. She was previously an assistant at Syracuse. In two seasons, she helped guide the Orange to a combined 38-7 record, including an 11-1 mark in BIG EAST play, a BIG EAST regular season title (2012), a BIG EAST Tournament title (2011), two NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four (2012). Barrett came to Syracuse after her first season as the assistant coach at Christopher Newport University, where she helped lead the Captains to the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Barrett received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Kent State University in 2009 and continued at Kent State to receive her Masters of Arts in exercise/leisure and sport in 2010. She started 47 of the 60 games in which she appeared at Kent State, scoring 17 goals and adding eight assists while at Kent State. As captain her senior season in 2008, Barrett led the Golden Flashes to the MAC Conference regular season and tournament titles. Barrett holds a USA Field Hockey Level II Certification. She is also a USA Field Hockey Level 1 Futures Site DIrector and U16/U19 National Futures Coach. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, she was a member of the Scotland National U16 and U18 squads before attending Kent State.