Anders, Beth (1951—)

American field hockey player and coach. Born on November 13, 1951, in Norristown, Pennsylvania; graduated Ursinus College, 1973.

Won the bronze medal with her team at the 1984 Olympics; voted Amateur Athlete of the Year for Field Hockey by the U.S. Olympic Committee (1981, 1984); voted Co-Athlete of the Year in 1982 with Charlene Morett by Olympian magazine.

At the dawn of the 20th century, field hockey was wildly popular in the United States; it was also one of the first sports in which large numbers of American women participated. Introduced by Constance Applebee in 1901, it would become an Olympic sport for women in 1980. Beth Anders joined the U.S. national field hockey team in 1969. Beginning in 1971, she played on every World Cup team. An experienced player, whose specialty was penalty corner goals, Anders scored six of them in seven matches in the 1983 World Cup competition. In 1984, when the United States won a gold medal in the Four Nations Competition, defeating New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, Anders' scoring of four penalty corner goals was crucial to the victory.

Anders was also an excellent defensive player. Assisted by goalkeeper Gwen Cheesman and left-wing forward Charlene Morett , Anders led her team to a third-place finish and a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. (The team was coached by Field Hockey Hall of Famer Vonnie Gros .) In addition to playing in national and international competition, Anders also coached. As head coach at Old Dominion, she long held the most impressive winloss record of any field hockey program. Her teams won four NCAA Division I titles, three of them consecutively (1982–84).

Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia