Hannah Pearce is a young field hockey player who has taken her local talents to the USA and became the first South African to captain the women’s team at Harvard University.
Massachusetts, USA (27 May 2022) – Hannah Pearce has been flying our flag high as the first South African captain of Harvard University’s distinguished hockey team… and she just keeps bringing home the big wins.
The Senior Captain was named National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Player of the Year for 2021 and last night, the talented South African also received the coveted Radcliffe Prize.
First established in 1975, this award is given annually to that member of a women’s team, who, through dedication to the sport, qualities of leadership, and outstanding ability on the playing field best reflects the purposeful achievement of Radcliffe alumnae in every field around the world. In short, the award goes to the most outstanding athlete from a women’s team.
Pearce also won the William J. Bingham ’16 Award as Harvard’s top female athlete.
Pearce had her best season – playing for the Ivy League University – in 2021, leading the team with 30 points (14 goals, two assists) and serving as the team’s most valuable defensive player. She is also an NFHCA Academic Squad honoree.
According to Harvard University’s daily newspaper, “Consecutive weekends of back-to-back wins bumped Harvard field hockey to No. 12 in the United States of America. Exciting victories over Columbia and Bucknell, and then against the University of Pennsylvania and University of New Hampshire the following weekend brought the team’s overall win-loss tally to 9-1, marking an incredible start to the season.”
MatchKit – a South African platform that helps athletes manage their digital brands – explained to Good Things Guy that according to their research, Hannah is actually the first South African to captain the respected University’s hockey team, and she continues to build her credentials and establish her case to make it back into the national team as she looks ahead to Paris Olympic 2024 qualification.
“Our team has a very strong bond and a very good team environment. It’s been really fun to get back to playing after such a long break, [and] it’s been great to be back with [everyone] and be playing hockey again.”
Watch the interview here:
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