LOWELL, Mass. (May 15, 2008) – Danielle Collins (Walpole, Mass.), a former standout field hockey player at the University of Vermont, will join the UMass Lowell field hockey coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2008, announced head coach Shannon Hlebichuk.

At UML Collins will work primarily with the River Hawks’ attacking players, and the team’s offensive corners.

“We are extremely excited that a player of Danielle’s caliber will be joining our staff,” said Hlebichuk. “She had a tremendous career at the University of Vermont and will be an important component in developing the creativity and goal scoring capabilities of our attacking players.”

Collins joins the coaching ranks after a decorated four-year career with the Catamounts. The former Walpole High School star set UVM records for career points (121), goals (48), and tied the school record with 25 career assists. She also holds single-season records for points (45) and goals (18), both set in 2006.

In 2007, her senior season, Collins was named the America East Offensive Player of the Year, and was a member of the America East All-Conference First team for the third straight season. Collins became the first Catamount field hockey player to be named an All-American when she was picked as a Third Team All-American by both Womensfieldhockey.com and by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).

Selected to the 2007 ECAC Division I All-Star team, she was also selected to the America East Field Hockey All-Academic Team in 2007.

Collins is a two-time member of the NFHCA All-Northeast Region First Team (2006 and 2007), and was named to the NFHCA All-Northeast Region Second Team in 2005.

Collins is currently training the U.S. Field Hockey High Performance Training Center. She replaces Lauren Sickel, who has accepted the second assistant position at Boston College.

The River Hawks went 19-3 in 2007, and captured the NE-10 regular season championship with a 15-1 conference record. UML also won the 2007 NE-10 tournament title, its fifth straight, and reached the NCAA Final Four for the fifth year in a row in 2007.