Clarke Headlines Michigan's Quartet of All-Big Ten Conference Honorees
11/1/2023 2:04:00 PM | Field Hockey
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team placed four players on the All-Big Ten Conference teams, the league announced Wednesday (Nov. 1) on the eve of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament. Senior Lora Clarke was named to the All-Big Ten first team, while freshman Abby Burnett and seniors Rosie Hope and Anouk Veen received second-team recognition.
Senior Serena Brimacombe also was named the Wolverines' Sportsmanship Award recipient, given annually to student-athletes who distinguish themselves through good sportsmanship and ethical behavior, as well as demonstrate academic excellence and good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Clarke, Burnett and Hope all garnered postseason accolades for the first time in their collegiate careers, while Veen is a repeat All-Big Ten honoree.
Clarke, who moved to the midfield this season after three seasons among the forward line, owns three goals and a team-best nine assists as U-M's primary corner inserter. She scored the Wolverines' game-winning goal in double overtime last Friday (Sept. 27) in the regular-season finale against Michigan State. Clarke has started 64 of 75 total games played at Michigan and boasts 21 career goals and 17 assists.
Burnett is the first Wolverine freshman to earn All-Big Ten honors since Lauren Thomas in 2012. Burnett has started all 16 games in the midfield and contributed to a defensive unit that has allowed just 1.13 goals and 8.9 shots per game. Burnett also scored her first collegiate goal two weeks ago at Central Michigan (Oct. 22).
Hope, who transitioned to the midfield after three seasons at back, has started 63 of 66 games played over her Michigan career and owns four assists, including two this season. She has been a centerpiece of the Wolverines' defense for the last four years, helping to spearhead a unit that has averaged just 1.02 goals against and 7.5 shots against over that stretch.
Veen earned All-Big Ten honors for the second time in her year. She previously garnered second-team honors in 2021 -- the same year she was named a NFHCA third team All-American -- before missing nearly all of last season with injury. Like Hope, Veen has been a fixture of the Wolverine defensive unit since arriving at Michigan and has served as U-M's center midfielder and field general this year. She also owns two goals and two assists as a primary striker on the Wolverines' attack corner unit. Veen has appeared in 54 career games with 51 starts and carried 11 goals and seven assists.
Michigan is set to host the Big Ten Tournament this week at Phyllis Ocker Field. The seventh-seeded Wolverines will open play against Rutgers in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 2).
