Freese gets win record
It took 17 seasons and a 1-0 win over Southwest Missouri State to give Field Hockey Head Coach Cristy Freese career win 120.
Freese passed Mary Bottaro on Saturday and now has more wins than any other CMU coach, with an overall record of 120-177-6.
Bottaro set the record in seven fewer season then Freese.
Freese played against Bottaro when she was at Ohio State, where Freese was captain her senior year.
“Mary was a great coach here, and she was the reason why I applied here. When I played for Ohio State, she was coaching here and one year we would go to nationals and the next year CMU would go,” Freese said. “When the spot opened, this was the only place I applied for because of the reputation of the program.”
Freese has been named the MAC Coach of the Year in 1987 and ’89. She also led CMU to its first MAC title in 1990, with a 9-9 record. Freese’s teams also have played in four MAC championship games and have been to the semifinals of the MAC tournament four other times.
“I would say the year we won the MAC was the best year I have had coaching,” Freese said. “It was my fifth season here and we had been to the championship in 1987 and in ’89 we lost by strokes, then we finally won it in 1990.”
Freese has had the opportunity to coach 25 first team All-MAC players, 25 second team All-MAC players and 17 regional All-Americans.
“I have had so many great players and a lot of really talented teams,” Freese said. “This year, we have five seniors that I am very proud of and that are very special to me. The record should have been broken a long time ago, but I am very happy it happened with this team. I want this year to be like 1990 when we won the MAC.”
Freese said she does not plan on leaving the Chippewas bench any time soon.
“I love it here. I love CMU, I love Mount Pleasant and I love working for Herb Deromedi and Marcy Weston,” Freese said. “I want to finish my career here and I will stay as long as the university will have me. Now, I don’t want to be coaching as long as Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno, but coaching takes a lot of energy and as long as I have the energy, I will continue to coach.”
The Chippewas return to play on Sept. 20 at Ann Arbor for a game against No. 11 Northeastern University and then host Ohio on Oct. 10 in a MAC matchup.
