Caroline Nelson-Nichols Inducted to Old Dominion Athletics Hall of Fame
9/26/2016 1:59:00 PM | Field Hockey
NORFOLK, Va. – Columbia University field hockey head coach and former Old Dominion University standout Caroline Nelson-Nichols was inducted into her alma mater's Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, September 23.
“I am truly humbled by this honor and am so grateful to the Old Dominion University Hall of Fame Committee for accepting me into such a distinguished group,” said Nelson-Nichols. “I also wish a huge congratulations to my fellow inductees.”
“When looking back on my career and the lessons learned, my head coach Beth Anders always taught me to play for something bigger than myself and to fight for my teammates, our program, and all of the women that had come before me and that would come after me. Without my teammates, this achievement would not have been possible.”
Nelson-Nichols had an outstanding playing career with the Monarchs from 2003-06. She earned All-America honors as well as NFHCA All-South Region accolades and became the first player to ever become Colonial Athletic Conference Player and Defender of the Year in 2006. As a junior, she was named an NFHCA second team All-South Region selection and named to the CAA all-tournament team.
The three-time All-CAA selection guided ODU to a pair of conference titles, reached the NCAA Tournament in all four years of her career, including a trip to the final four in 2005. Nelson-Nichols also earned selections to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2004 and 2005.
She was also a national all-academic team selection and an all-conference honoree from 2004-06. Upon her graduation, Nelson-Nichols made a total of 165 appearances in the United States National Team's backfield from 2006-14 and was a member of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Teams.
"When I think about my Columbia field hockey family now, it is always my hope that I pass on the many lessons I learned from my collegiate and post collegiate experience to impact my athletes the same way many of my coaches impacted me," Nelson-Nichols said. "I am very lucky to have had support from so many family, friends, loved ones, educators, coaches, teammates and colleagues throughout my career and I am incredibly thankful for this recognition and honor."
