Meet the Coach

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Melissa L. Hodgdon

Head Coach

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Melissa L. Hodgdon joined Wheaton's athletic department as the head coach of the women's basketball program prior to the 2003-04 season. She led the Lyons to their first NCAA Tournament in 13 years during the winter of 2007-08, helping the team capture the program's initial New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season and tournament titles, before guiding Wheaton back to the title game last winter.

During each of Hodgdon's first five seasons, the Lyons improved upon their previous year's win total. In 2007-08, Wheaton set a school record for conference victories, and Hodgdon was named league coach of the year. The year prior, she coached the Lyons to their inaugural Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament championship game. In addition to on-court success, Wheaton has compiled better than a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average as a team during each of Hodgdon's six years.

Prior to her arrival at Wheaton, Hodgdon served as the top assistant for the women's basketball program at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester for four seasons. During her stint, the Crusaders captured three Patriot League championships in addition to advancing to the NCAA Division I Tournament three times.

At Holy Cross, Hodgdon was responsible for all phases of recruiting while also playing an integral role in the program's scouting, court preparation and bench coaching. In all of her previous coaching engagements, Hodgdon saw every one of her recruited players successfully complete school. She has continued that perfect graduation rate at Wheaton while her athletes have drawn five academic all-conference honors.

Hodgdon went to Holy Cross after two seasons as an assistant coach at Niagara University. Prior to Niagara, she spent three years as the top assistant at the University of New Hampshire. Hodgdon began her coaching career in 1991 at Framingham State College, where she served as an assistant for one year before moving on to Wentworth Institute of Technology as the head coach for two seasons. In her second year at Wentworth, Hodgdon guided the Leopards to the most successful season in the program's nine years to that point.

In addition to her contributions to the collegiate varsity coaching circuit, Hodgdon has served in other capacities, including coaching recreational women's volleyball at New Hampshire in 1994 and working as the equipment and facilities manager at Wentworth. While working at Framingham State and Wentworth, she was also employed at Newton Country Day School from 1991-93.

Hodgdon is a 1991 graduate of Springfield College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in health education with a minor in psychology. While at Niagara, Hodgdon earned a master's degree in school counseling. A native of East Boothbay, Maine, she was a standout women's basketball player for four years at Springfield. Named team MVP and captain twice, Hodgdon still holds the school's single-game assists record.

The Hodgdon File

Year	Overall	League	Highlight(s)
2003-04	9-16	4-9	--
2004-05	11-15	6-7	NEWMAC Tournament
2005-06	14-12	6-7	NEWMAC Tournament
2006-07	19-11	9-4	ECAC Tournament
2007-08	22-7	12-1	NCAA Tourn., NEWMAC Champs
2008-09	17-11	9-4	NEWMAC Tournament
Totals	92-72	46-32	6 Seasons

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Erica Kovach

Assistant Coach

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An experienced clinician and a former four-year player at Division I Boston University, Erica Kovach returns to the Wheaton staff as an assistant coach for her second season this winter.

In her initial coaching position, Kovach served on Division I Princeton University's staff during the 2007-08 season, but she has been heavily involved with camps since 2003, including working Princeton's camp. A 2007 college graduate, Kovach worked at her alma mater's basketball camp during the summer following each of her first three years of college.

Kovach also served as a counselor at a Philadelphia camp run by her college coach in 2006 and was involved with a pair of NCAA Youth Education through Sports (YES) Program clinics in Boston that same year. During the summer of 2005, she served a role at camps in Chelsea and in her hometown of Georgetown, Texas. Kovach, who worked her first Georgetown camp in 2003, was involved with an annual holiday reading program for elementary school children in each of her four years of college.

A starter during her final two years at Boston University, Kovach averaged 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds as an upperclassman, starting all 30 games while serving as a captain her senior season. The Terriers advanced to the America East Tournament championship contest each of her first three years. Kovach, who earned a degree in sociology, completed her career among the top 10 in school history in career three-pointers and free throw percentage.

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Kim McCormack

Assistant Coach

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Kim McCormack returns to her alma mater as an assistant coach for a second season following a one-year stint at Curry College.

While at Curry, which is located in her hometown of Milton, McCormack was charged with recruiting and scouting duties as the lone assistant coach.

A four-year Lyon, McCormack capped her career in 2006-07 by leading the squad to its first league tournament semifinal contest since 1996. That same season, McCormack helped the Blue and White set a school record for conference victories while advancing to its initial Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament title game.

McCormack graduated fifth in program history in career steals (204) and eighth in rebounds (620). She completed her four years with 873 points in 98 contests. A 2007 graduate, McCormack majored in history.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 11/22/09.
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Upcoming Schedule

29-Nov Sun Univ. of New Eng. A 2:00pm
2-Dec Wed Babson A 7:00pm
5-Dec Sat Coast Guard A 1:00pm