Denise Zelenak - Head Field Hockey Coach - Field Hockey Coaches

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Denise Zelenak

Title:
Head Field Hockey Coach
Email:
fieldhockey@drexel.edu
Phone:
215-895-1789

In her 15th season, Denise Zelenak completed the transformation of Drexel Field Hockey from a team that did not win a game in the season before her arrival to a national power. After a winless season in 1993, she became the fourth head coach in Drexel’s Division I history. She rebuilt the team and prepared the program for a move from the America East to one of the top field hockey leagues in the nation, the Colonial Athletic Association. After the Dragons’ first few seasons in the conference, Drexel was knocking on the doorstep of league’s elite but was unable to break through. Finally in 2007, Zelenak led her team to the CAA Championships for the first time as the Dragons finished third in the conference standings. After a quarterfinal win over Hofstra, Drexel was ousted in the semifinals by eventual champion James Madison as the Dragons finished the season with a 12-9 record. The next season, Drexel continued its ascent as the Dragons posted the most wins in school history after registering a 16-4 mark that included a 7-1 record in the CAA. The team was ranked as high as 14th in the nation and finished the year ranked 16th in the final NFHCA poll. In 2009, Zelenak set the Dragons’ sights higher with a tough schedule and high expectations. Drexel nearly surpassed all of its goals as the Dragons finished the regular season with an 18-3 record that included the CAA regular season championship. The Dragons went on to its first-ever berth in the CAA Championship Final as well as the program’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. For her accomplishments, Zelenak was chosen as the 2009 CAA Coach of the Year.

Over the last three seasons, 20 players have been named All-Conference including eight First Team All-CAA selections and this year’s Player of the Year, Christina Mastropaolo, and Defender of the Year, Sofia Sanguinetti. In her Drexel coaching career, 10 of her players have received a combined 17 Regional All-America awards, including a four National All-Americans. Pamie Zukowski earned All-America honors in 2000 and 2001. Rachael Bloemker was named Third Team All-America in 2005 while Gostomski also earned Third Team accolades in 2007. Last season, Susan Ciufo became Drexel’s first sophomore to be selected to an All-American Team when she nabbed Third Team honors.

The rise to prominence in the CAA was marked with achievements. In 2006, she guided Drexel to a blistering start as the Dragons opened the season with a five-game winning streak. In 2005, Zelenak led Drexel to a 10-9 record, including a 4-1 mark against Philadelphia-area schools. In 2002, Zelenak posted 11 wins overall and two victories in the CAA, narrowly missing the conference tournament but qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament for the second-straight year. That year also included a first-time win over Boston University and a record-setting six consecutive victories. In 2000, Zelenak led her team to a school-record 13 victories and the program's first postseason appearance since 1992. Her efforts earned her the 2000 Dita/NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year as one of the five coaches to be honored regionally by the NFHCA.

Zelenak began her coaching career as an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. She spent the next two seasons as an assistant coach at Drexel before returning to West Chester University, her alma mater, for two seasons (1993-94). Zelenak also coached in the U.S. Field Hockey Association (USFHA) Futures program for seven years.

Zelenak, who is entering her seventh season on the All-America committee, was a part of the ECAC committee from 1999-2002 serving as its chair in 2000 and 2001. She also served as a Regional Ranking Committee member for five years. Earlier this year, she earned Level II coach accreditation from the USA Field Hockey and has been recommended for Level III. She has also managed the U.S. Field Hockey Under 18 Team in the Can Am’s during the Summer of 2007 and led the squad to a perfect record in the series.

Zelenak's extensive field hockey résumé is highlighted by her outstanding achievements on the field as well. At the collegiate level, she was a member of a highly successful West Chester program that ranked in the top 20 in Division I throughout her playing career. Zelenak earned Regional All-America recognition and was invited to play in the 1989 Olympic Festival in Oklahoma where she earned a spot on the U.S. National Reserve Team prior to her graduation in 1991 with a degree in health and physical education. Zelenak's post-collegiate playing career has been equally impressive. A USFHA National Indoor Tournament All-Star in 1994 and 1995, she led her team to the 1998, 2001 and 2008 National Indoor Championship. She also competed from 1998-2001 in the U.S. United Airlines Summer League for the Metro Rush and in 2003 for the Fury. In 2000, she served as the team's player-coach. Zelenak, who has been a captain of the U.S. Indoor National Team since 2004, led the Americans to a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in 2006. In 2008, Zelenak once again represented the U.S. in the Pan Am Games and guided the squad to another silver medal.

A former captain of the Puerto Rican National Team, Zelenak competed in the Puerto Rican Olympic Festival and the Central American Games. During her time with the Puerto Rican team she earned 12 caps and recorded three goals. Zelenak served as co-head coach for the United States Men's East Coast Junior Team that won the national championships in 2006 and 2008 at the U.S. training center in Chula Vista, Calif. She is also the coach of the three-time U.S. Field Hockey National Championship Junior Team, the East Coast Juniors, winning Gold in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

A native of Warminster, Pa., Denise and her husband, James, Drexel's admissions director of data modeling and analysis, reside in Wilmington, Del. with their three sons, 17-year-old Paul, 14-year-old Gray and 8-year-old Jack.