Springfield, Ohio -- Wittenberg University Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation, Dr. Gary Williams, announced the appointment of Bronwen Gainsford as the 10th Head Field Hockey Coach in program history. Gainsford will officially begin her appointment with the Tigers on Monday, March 2, 2020.
Gainsford comes to Wittenberg after spending the last five years as the head coach at NCAA Division II member Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. As the inaugural head coach in program history at Belmont Abbey, Gainsford spent the fall of 2015 recruiting and prepping for the first official varsity season in 2016. Since that time, she has amassed an overall record of 23-45 in four seasons, which included leading the Crusaders to back-to-back appearances in the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Tournament Semifinals in each of the last two seasons.
“I am honored and grateful to President Frandsen, VP and Director of Athletics Dr. Williams and Sr. Associate AD Bret Billhardt for the opportunity to join the Wittenberg University family and lead a tremendous group of young women,” stated Gainsford. “Wittenberg offers a great opportunity to continue to build on a strong foundation and I am excited to continue to develop the culture.”
Prior to her time at Belmont Abbey, Gainsford worked for USA Field Hockey, where she was the Region 8 Development and Fundamental Field Hockey Manager. In the role, she represented USA Field Hockey’s programs in the region, provided overall support for all field hockey constituencies in the region, provided advice, support and opportunities to athletes, coaches, umpires and volunteers, maintained database of all field hockey contacts in region and organized, marketed and led all aspects of the USA Field Hockey Futures program.
“We are very pleased that Bronwen has accepted our offer to become our next field hockey coach,” said Williams. “Bronwen brings to us a strong combination of coaching and administrative skills that impressed me and our campus community. Coupled with her desire to both honor the history and tradition of our program, while having a clear vision of where she wants to take the program that is consistent with our values and goals, made her an excellent fit to lead our program and join our department.”
Gainsford also has previous coaching experience at both the Div. I and III levels, serving as an affiliate coach at James Madison University for the 2014 season and as the graduate assistant at Smith College (MA) for the 2012 and ’13 seasons.
As a player, Gainsford was a goalkeeper at Wake Forest in 2010 and 2011. She played her freshman (2008) and sophomore (2009) seasons at Catawba College where she began as a defender/midfielder before moving to the goalkeeper position. In 2009, she led all NCAA Division II goalies in saves per game. She served as the team captain and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player.
Gainsford earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication from Wake Forest in 2012 and her Master of Science in exercise and sports studies from Smith College in 2014. She holds a Level II U.S. Field Hockey coaching certification.