Continental Scholar Athletes

To many, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is synonymous with all that's right with college athletics. Highly competitive, both academically and athletically, the conference strictly enforces high admissions standards for varsity athletes. That's the environment within which the Hamilton Continentals Women's Field Hockey team exists; weekly competitive conference games against the likes of Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Amherst, and high expectations for players in the classroom. It's within those high field hockey and academic expectations that Hamilton players thrive.

Hamilton women's new field hockey coach Melissa Mariano was competitive within the NESCAC in her first year, making the NESCAC quarterfinals in 2017 with a record of 9-6. In addition, the Continentals had 6 players earn NESCAC All-Academic Honors for the fall.

Coach Mariano spent the previous nine years as the head coach at Franklin and Marshall College, where she is the winningest coach in program history with a record of 129-46. In 2016 Mariano directed the Diplomats to a record of 16-5, a share of the Centennial Conference regular season title and the NCAA championship quarterfinals. It was the team's fifth NCAA appearance in the last six years. Prior to Franklin and Marshall, Mariano was assistant coach for Williams Smith, and before that a player at Middlebury College. While at Middlebury, where she was known as Missy Krempa, Mariano was a four-year starter and finished her career with 21 goals and 48 points. As team captain in 2003 she helped lead the Panthers to a 19-1 record, a NESCAC championship and the NCAA final. She was a first team all-American, first team all-NESCAC and was selected for the NCAA all-tournament team. Mariano was on the all-region first team twice and earned a spot on the 2003 NFHCA National Academic Squad. She graduated cum laude with a degree in history and psychology.

About Hamilton College
Hamilton College's 1,350-acre campus is situated on a hilltop overlooking bucolic Clinton, New York. Although technically not in New England, if Hollywood were to create the ideal New England liberal arts college campus, Hamilton might very well be it.

Writing is a central focus of the academic mission of Hamilton, as expressed in the College's mantra "Hamilton is a national leader in teaching students to write effectively, learn from each other and think for themselves." With an otherwise open curriculum, the emphasis on writing results in one of the few course distribution requirements, as students must take at least three writing-intensive classes. The most popular Hamilton majors are economics, mathematics, political science and biology.

Founded in 1793 and named for Alexander Hamilton, a trustee on the board, Hamilton enrolls approximately 1,800 students from 46 states and 40 countries. Hamilton's admissions are highly competitive; its SAT 25th-75th percentile range is 1950 to 2220, and it accepts only around 27% of those who apply. Play the video below for more on Hamilton.