The University of Delaware community came out in full force Friday night, Dec. 9, to pay tribute to its national champions.

A crowd of nearly 700 fans and supporters filled the floor of the Bob Carpenter Center and cheered on the members of the history-making Blue Hen field hockey squad as they celebrated their first national championship, won last month with a thrilling 3-2 victory over North Carolina in Norfolk, Virginia. 

The night was highlighted by presentations from UD President Dennis Assanis, Director of Athletics and Recreation Services Chrissi Rawak, head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof, and student-athletes Marjelle Scheffers and Maura Zarkoski, as they celebrated the great accomplishments of the 2016 season and thanked the fans for their support throughout the year. 

Delaware completed a storybook season that saw the team post a 23-2 record, capture its fourth straight Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title, and cruise by No. 9 ranked Louisville, top-ranked Duke, No. 14 Princeton and No. 4 North Carolina in the postseason to capture the national title, the first for a UD field hockey team and the ninth in UD Athletics history. 

“Awesome, unbelievable, amazing,” said an enthusiastic Assanis as he addressed the team and the crowd. “I can’t tell you how proud I am to cherish this moment with you tonight. I am so proud to be a Blue Hen today. It’s been an amazing week and we saved the best for last. We are a community of winners on and off the field.”

Following performances by the University of Delaware cheerleaders and dance team, the UD field hockey team its way on to the stage and were introduced one-by-one, followed by a video that highlighted the team’s championship run. The celebration also included a video of van de Kerkhof’s congratulatory phone call from Vice President Joe Biden a few days after the title game. 

“Thank you for sharing the accomplishments of this great team and for all of your support,” van de Kerkhof later told the gathering at The Bob. “We wanted to dream big and work hard toward those dreams. Every game we got better and that was our focus. We had to fight every step of the way, and we had to play big time names. But we took care of business and won them one game at a time. Together we have done something amazing.”

After the presentations, the UD Pep Band played the Delaware Fight Song followed by a recording of “We Are the Champions” by Queen. Then confetti rained down from the rafters to complete a festive evening. 

“This is hard to put into words,” said Delaware senior co-captain Meghan Winesett, who scored a goal in the national championship game. “Every one of our four conference championships was special and unique. A national championship was not our original goal, but it became one. There is nothing more that this senior class could have accomplished. Tonight was amazing, walking out and seeing so many familiar faces but a lot of new faces, too. We have so many people supporting us and cheering for us.”

To see a photo gallery on BlueHens.com, click here.