Audrey Coler, ’18, is one of the Wittenberg Tigers’ offensive weapons on the field hockey team. Coler is a speedy forward for the Tigers.
In May, Coler is going to earn a degree in biology from Wittenberg with a degree in biology. She has applied to grad school to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant. Coler has an interest in the medical field and a passion for sports. She wants to be involved in the medical field, particularly diagnosing patients to performing surgeries.
Before Coler played field hockey, she played basketball. She was introduced to the game of field hockey in high school, where she attended Ursuline Academy, a private school in Cincinnati.
Coler fell in love with the game because of her speed and passion for competition. She gave up basketball believing that there were more chances of receiving an athletic scholarship for playing field hockey than basketball.
Coler decided to come and play for Wittenberg because she wanted to attend an university close to home, but, at first, that wasn’t her original plan, as she had wanted to play Division I. However, she didn’t want a rigorous schedule of being a full-time athlete, so she looked into going into Division II, but many schools with good field hockey programs were along the East Coast.
Coach Katie Hubbell recruited her to play for Wittenberg, and the rest was history.
Coler explained that playing in her last home game for Wittenberg was more nerve wracking than her first home game as a freshman because Hubbell gave Coler and other seniors, like Riley Trexler, opportunities to play early as freshmen. She wasn’t going to take the moment for granted, but also didn’t want to get wound up emotionally. Coler mentioned that she plays her best when she doesn’t think.
Coler is currently tied for second place in individual goals in the NCAC, as she has scored 13 times this year.
Although the field hockey team hasn’t changed much since her freshman year, Coler mentioned that the senior core has developed enormous amounts of trust, leadership and experience that helped the team have a successful season. This year was one of the first times in awhile that Wittenberg had beaten DePauw twice in one season.
Coler also mentioned how enjoyable it was for her to play alongside teammates from the Netherlands. She is thankful for learning about their culture, skills and knowledge about the game of field hockey.
Coler shared her desire to thank her field hockey coaches for helping her with life outside of athletics. Coler wants to see a continued ongoing success of the field hockey program in the future.
