Staci Brennan enters her 11th season as the head field hockey coach at Hood. Brennan and the Blazers will embark on their first season in the Middle Atlantic Conferences in 2012.

Last season, Brennan mentored Hood's first all-Capital Athletic Conference selection in defender Michelle Buhrman '13, who was recognized on the second team by the league's head coaches. Hood went 3-12 in 2011, notching wins over Bryn Mawr, Cedar Crest and St. Vincent, while in 2010, Brennan and the Blazers posted a record of 3-13. In 2009, the Blazers registered five wins, the most for the program since the 2005 campaign.

Brennan served as Hood's mentor in its final five seasons in the Atlantic Women's Colleges Conference. Her first three squads managed a combined six victories, but she guided a young squad featuring 13 freshmen and sophomores to the top of the AWCC in 2005. As the No. 3 seed in the AWCC tournament, Hood upset No. 2 Mary Baldwin and No. 1 Wilson by 1-0 scores to capture its second conference title in school history (the other came in 1999).

In 2005 Brennan was selected the AWCC Coach of the Year after leading Hood to the AWCC conference crown and a 7-8 finish, which more than doubled its win total (3-11) from 2004. In addition, five Blazers were named to the all-AWCC squad, led by senior goalie Cheryl Banks, who was voted the Most Outstanding Player after leading NCAA Division III with a .909 save percentage and tying for 14th in the nation with 179 saves. Banks finished her career with 874 saves to rank fourth in NCAA Division III history.

In 2006, despite falling early in the AWCC tournament, three Blazers were honored by the league. Justina Miller, Crystal Parker and Brandy Noel were all named to the all-conference first team.

Brennan also led the Blazer women's lacrosse program to renewed success in her four years as head coach from 2004-07. In the spring of 2005, Brennan guided Hood to a school-record seven wins, its first-ever AWCC championship game and a runner-up finish in the conference. She was rewarded with AWCC Coach of the Year honors as well.

Also in 2005, Tiffany Still was named the AWCC Most Outstanding Player of the Year and played in the prestigious Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association/STX Division III North-South Senior All-Star Game. That same year, Banks led NCAA Division III with 6.64 ground balls per game.

In 2006, Brennan tutored five Blazers to all-AWCC honors, led by freshman Liz Rakowski, who was chosen the AWCC Newcomer of the Year.

Brennan's student-athletes have also been lauded for their excellence in the classroom. Since 2005, a total of 30 Blazers have been named to National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Academic Squad.

Brennan, who also serves as the Hood athletic department's compliance coordinator and senior woman administrator, played field hockey for Catawba College, a NCAA Division II school in Salisbury, N.C. In her four years at Catawba she started all 63 games, was named to the All-Deep South team, received the Coaches Award and served as a co-captain her senior year.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in communication arts from Catawba in 1995, Brennan returned to Maryland to attend Towson University. Two years later she earned a master's degree in mass communications.

Former St. Mary's College (Md.) standout and Frederick native Halley Pack begins her fourth season with the Blazer field hockey staff this fall.

A four-year letterwinner for the Seahawks, Pack scored seven goals and registered seven assists in 67 games at St. Mary's. In 2007, she captained the squad and was named to the Capital Athletic Conference all-league first team.

An excellent student, she earned a spot on the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association (NFCHA) Academic Team and the CAC All-Academic team all four years. Pack also garnered the school's Female Athletic Director's Award as a senior for her dedication to the athletic program.

Pack ranks third all-time at St. Mary's in games played (67), sixth in minutes played (2,403), 13th in assists (7) and 15th in goals (7) and points (21). She also set the program's single season record for minutes played (1086) in 2007.

Pack graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology in May 2008 and is a member of two honor societies (Chi Alpha Sigma and Psi Chi). She obtained a master's degree in human sciences from Hood in May 2010.

Kara Zimmerman, a former standout goalkeeper at Stevenson University, joins the Hood College field hockey coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the 2012-13 school year.

At Stevenson, Zimmerman was a four-year starter in the cage for the Mustangs and posted a career 2.32 goals-against average. She amassed 555 saves in her four years at Stevenson which ranks fourth all-time in the Capital Athletic Conference annals. She started all 75 games she appeared in and guided the Mustangs to four appearances in the CAC tournament, including a trip to the semifinals her sophomore year.

Zimmerman earned numerous awards in her collegiate career. A team captain her senior year, she was chosen as the Mustangs most valuable player as a sophomore and a senior. She was selected by the CAC head coaches as a first-team all-conference goalkeeper in 2008 and 2010 and garnered second-team recognition in 2009. Zimmerman was also a two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) all-region selection and received an invitation to play in the NFHCA senior all-star game to cap her impressive collegiate career.

Originally from Odenton, Md., Zimmerman was a second team all-county and honorable mention all-metro honoree at Arundel High School.

Last fall, Zimmerman served as a student assistant coach at Stevenson and received a bachelor of science degree in business communication in December 2011. She will be pursuing a master's degree in business administration at Hood.