Head Coach

Hannah Dave just finished her sixth season at Newberry College and her fourth as head coach. She was named the third head coach in school history in March 2017. Dave served as the program's interim head coach in the 2016 and 2017 spring semesters after joining the program as an assistant coach in 2015.

In a shortened season moved to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave led the Wolves to a 5-3 record and 4-2 in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas play in 2020, the second straight year Newberry has recorded a winning record overall and in conference. In addition, after a 6-0 win at home on Senior Day against Mount Olive on March 2, the Wolves started the season 3-0, the best in school history. Dave led the Wolves to a third seed in the conference and recorded their first post-season win in school history, coming from behind late to beat Converse in double overtime by a score of 2-1 on March 30.

Dave had three Newberry players make All-Conference First Team and three players were selected as All-Conference Honorable Mention honorees, including forward Lily Drury winning the conference's Freshman of the Year award. Her ten goals was first in the conference. Drury also led Newberry in shots with 34, shots on goal with 20, points in a game (4) three times and goals in a game (2) three times. Drury also won both the SAC/CC Offensive Player of the Week and the NFHCA Division II Offensive Player of the Week after contributing four points in the 6-0 win over Mount Olive on Mar. 2 and was recognized as a NFHCA Scholar of Distinction.  

Dave also saw senior forward Farai Kawonde nab a First Team All-SAC/CC distinction. Kawonde also won the SAC/CC Offensive Player of the Week as she led the Wolves to the 4-0 win over Converse on Feb. 10, garnering two points on two shots and two assists. The final All-Conference First Team selection for the Wolves was junior midfielder Kelli Marshall. She had two game-winning goals for the Wolves this season, tied for third in the conference.

There were other accolades bestowed on the Wolves in 2020. Freshman forward Payton Findlay was named to the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Field Hockey All-Tournament Team a few days following the tournament. Findlay is the second player in school history to be named to the All-Tournament Team, joining teammate Chantel Gauthier in 2019.

Junior goalkeeper Grace Lee won both the SAC/CC Defensive Player of the Week and the NFHCA Division II National Defensive Player of the Week for posting three saves on nine shots and allowing only one goal in the 4-1 win over Belmont Abbey on Feb. 23. For her incredible year in the net, Lee earned All-Conference Honorable Mention and was recognized as a NFHCA Scholar of Distinction.

Freshman midfielder Caitlin Wassermann won All-Conference Honorable Mention. She also won both the SAC/CC Offensive Player of the Week and the NFHCA Division II National Offensive Player of the Week after scoring a goal and dishing out two assists in the 4-1 win over Belmont-Abbey on Feb. 23.

Dave was named the 2019 Division II Field Hockey Coach of the Year by Synapse Sports after leading the Wolves to their most wins (13) and most conference wins (nine) in program history. She became Newberry's first National Coach of the Year recipient since 1977.
 
In 2019, Dave guided Newberry to the second seed in the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship. The season was highlighted by a win against 10th-ranked Indiana University of Pennsylvania on the road. The Wolves also earned victories against Limestone and Lindenwood for the first time in program history. Newberry set a school record for consecutive wins (four), which they did on three separate occasions during the 2019 season. Dave had a school-record six student-athletes earn all-conference honors, including three named to the first team.
 
Over the last four seasons (2016-19), Dave was pivotal in the development of forward Brady Keeler, who finished as one of the most decorated players in Newberry history. Keeler concluded her collegiate career with the most goals (30) and points (78) in program history while finishing second in assists (18). As a senior in 2019, she was a First Team All-SAC choice after ranking in the top 20 nationally in assists, points, goals and goals per-game. Keeler also earned Second Team All-America recognition from Synapse Sports and was voted the league’s Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2019. She was named an alternate for the Victory Sports Tours/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II Senior Game, which features the top senior student-athletes from across the nation.
 
In 2018, Dave helped Newberry transition to the South Atlantic Conference from the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, where the Wolves had been a conference member since the program’s inception in 2013. Newberry finished with an 8-10 record (3-7 in the conference) in their first season in the SAC. The eight wins were then the most in school history. Three Wolves earned all-conference recognition, including senior goalkeeper Allison Davis, who was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as well as a First Team All-SAC choice. Davis led the conference in saves (97) and save percentage (.752) while registering the most single-season shutouts (four) by a goalkeeper in program history.
 
In her first season as head coach, Dave guided Newberry to a 6-14 record (3-7 in the conference) and the fourth seed in 2017 ECAC Division II Field Hockey Tournament. For the first time in program history, Newberry won their season opener and conference opener. Three student-athletes earned all-conference recognition, including one to the first team and two to the second team.
 
In 2016, Newberry finished with a 6-11 record (1-7 in the conference) and had two student-athletes earn Second Team All-Conference honors.
 
The Wolves compiled a 3-15 record (0-6 in the conference) in 2015 as four student-athletes earned all-conference honors. Freshman midfielder Hannah Collins earned First Team All-ECAC recognition and was the ECAC Division II Field Hockey League's Rookie of the Year. Additionally, three student-athletes were named to the ECAC Division II Field Hockey All-Star Team, as voted on by representatives from the Division’s member institutions.
 
Dave has helped foster an environment for her student-athletes that promotes success on and off the field. For four consecutive seasons (2016-19), Newberry earned the Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division II National Academic Team Award from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). The award recognizes programs that earned a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the school year. The Wolves field hockey team also had 19 student-athletes named to the 2019 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad for the 2019 season.
 
In the summer of 2019, Dave represented Team USA and served as an assistant coach at the European Maccabi Games, an Olympic-style Jewish sporting event. She assisted with the adult field hockey team (ages 18-35) and traveled to Budapest, Hungary to compete against teams of Jewish athletes from other countries where they placed 3rd overall.
 
Prior to Newberry, Dave was the assistant coach at her alma mater, Asheville (N.C.) High School. She was also a field hockey trainer at the YMCA of Western North Carolina. Dave previously worked in club field hockey in North Carolina, assisting in coaching duties for the North Carolina TarDevils indoor program and spending time running outdoor clinics and camps.
 
As a player, Dave helped start the field hockey program at Limestone College, where she was a four-year starter (2009-2012) at defender. She helped Limestone win 29 games, including a winning record by the program’s third year. Her junior year saw the Saints collect their first-ever win over a ranked opponent, No. 10 Adelphi, and over Division I Liberty in back-to-back games. It helped mark Limestone's ascension to a nationally ranked defense.
 
In her junior and senior seasons, Limestone ranked fifth and fourth, respectively, in goals against average despite ranking in the bottom six nationally in saves per game, a testament to the Saints' defensive prowess.
 
Dave was a four-year starter at Asheville (N.C.) High School, where she helped lead her team to four conference championships, three regional championships and two state runner-up finishes. She was the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year and was named all-state and all-region as a sophomore and a junior. Dave also earned all-conference recognition three times.
 
A native of Asheville, N.C., Dave graduated from Limestone with a degree in criminal justice. Her younger sister, Graycen, was a four-year letter winner (2014-17) as a forward on the Lindenwood field hockey team.