Dec. 5, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. - ACC field hockey coaches Karen Shelton of North Carolina and Missy Meharg of Maryland were today named Dita/NFHCA Region Coach of the Year in their respective regions. Shelton, who led her Tar Heels to the 2007 national title, earned the honor in the South Region, while Maryland's Meharg was chosen as the year's top coach in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

In her 25th year at North Carolina, Shelton led the Tar Heels to their 16th ACC title and fifth national championship in school history. This past season, her North Carolina squad became just the second team in ACC history to post a perfect record. In 24 matches, they outscored their opponents by a count of 102 to 14, posting 16 shutouts along the way and earning sixteen victories against teams ranked in the nation's top 25. With the 24 wins in 2007, Shelton now has a 429-108-8 all-time record at North Carolina. She currently leads the ACC in both all-time wins and in career-winning percentage (.794).

Meharg, now an 11-time Region Coach of the Year award winner, led her Maryland team to an 18-3 overall record, including a 4-1 ACC mark, in 2007. Her Terrapins had ten wins against ranked teams during the season, and made the NCAA Tournament for the 13th straight year. Maryland was ranked in the nation's top three in the polls the entire year, and finished the 2007 season in the top five of nearly every major statistical category kept by the NCAA. Meharg is now 345-98-9 in her 20 years at Maryland with a winning percentage of .773.