Cynthia Wetmore enters her 18th season as SUNY Cortland’s field hockey coach in 2015. In 17 seasons, her field hockey teams have a combined record of 257-69 (.788) with 13 NCAA, 12 regional and three final four appearances as well as 13 SUNYAC titles. During her career, she’s coached 27 All-Americans, 81 all-region selections, 108 All-SUNYAC picks and the 2001 Honda Division III Field Hockey Player of the Year. She also has coached seven SUNYAC First Year Players of the Year and eight SUNYAC Players of the Year since the league re-established field hockey as a conference sport in 2000.
Wetmore earned Dita/NFHCA national Division III Field Hockey Coach of the Year honors in 2001 as she led the Red Dragons to the NCAA Division III championship. The Red Dragons finished the season with a 19-2 record, capping off the campaign with a 1-0 victory against Messiah in the national title game.
In 2014, Cortland finished 14-3 and won the SUNYAC regular-season title but lost in the league tournament semifinals. The Red Dragons had a similar campaign in 2013 when then also finished 14-3 and won the SUNYAC regular-season crown before falling in a penalty shoot-out in the SUNYAC championship game. In 2012, the Red Dragons also finished as the SUNYAC Tournament runners-up.
In 2011, Cortland tied for 17th nationally after capturing the SUNYAC regular-season and tournament titles. The previous season, the Red Dragons tied for ninth nationally, finishing with a 16-5 record as Wetmore became a member of the prestigious NFCHA 200-victory club. In 2009, Wetmore led Cortland to a 19-1 record, a 10th straight SUNYAC title and a tie for fifth place nationally. The Red Dragons went 18-0 in the regular season, which was their second perfect regular-season mark in four years. In 2008, Cortland was 17-3 and also tied for fifth nationally.
In 2007, the Red Dragons finished 17-4 and advanced to the NCAA tournament second round. In 2006, Cortland tied for fifth nationally for the third straight season, finishing with a 19-1 record, including the program’s first-ever unbeaten regular season at 18-0. In 2005, Cortland tied for fifth nationally and posted a 15-3 record. In 2004, the Red Dragons also tied for fifth nationally with a 16-3 record. In 2003, Cortland tied for third nationally and finished the season with a 16-3 mark. The Red Dragons were 15-4 and tied for fifth nationally in 2002. They were 14-5 and tied for third nationally in 1999 and were 13-5 and tied for fifth in 2000.
Wetmore was named the North Atlantic Region “Coach of the Year” in 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2009 and the New York State “Coach of the Year” in 1999 and 2006. She has also been voted as the SUNYAC field hockey “Coach of the Year” seven times, most recently in 2014 as well as in 2000, 2001, 2003 and three straight times from 2006-08.
Wetmore was named Cortland’s “Coach of the Year” in both the 1999-2000 and 2001-02 school years, recognizing her success in both field hockey and lacrosse. In 10 seasons as Cortland's women's lacrosse head coach from 1998-2007, Wetmore compiled a 146-37 record with nine consecutive NCAA Div. III playoff appearances and is the program's all-time leader in wins. She led the Red Dragons to their first-ever undefeated regular season and a tie for third nationally during the 2006 campaign, garnering her second SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors. Overall, Cortland earned nine top-10 and four top-five national finishes and won at least 13 games for nine consecutive seasons. Wetmore coached 19 All-Americans, 38 all-region selections, 46 all-state honorees and eight SUNYAC Players of the Year.
Wetmore came to Cortland after a highly successful run as the head field hockey and lacrosse coach at Cicero-North Syracuse High School. She coached field hockey from 1990-96, leading the Northstars to the Section III, Class A title in 1996. Her lacrosse teams had a combined record of 152-14-1 from 1986-97 and claimed the first-ever New York State Class A Championships in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 the Northstars were New York state finalists. She was named Section III Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1997 and Syracuse Herald American Coach of the Year in 1997 and was inducted into the US Lacrosse Upstate New York Chapter Hall of Fame in 2008.
Wetmore coached and played field hockey internationally in Australia, England, Brussels, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. She graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and earned a master’s degree in 1985 from Southern Illinois University, where she was assistant field hockey coach from 1983-85. While at Rhode Island she captained the lacrosse and field hockey teams, which competed in the Division I A.I.A.W. Lacrosse National Tournament and the Division I A.I.A.W. Field Hockey Regional Tournament, respectively.
Prior to attending URI, Wetmore attended Herkimer County Community College from 1978-80. She was the school’s Athlete of the Year in 1979-80, a season in which she was a NJCAA hockey All-American while leading her team to a national championship. She still holds the college’s hockey record for most career goals scored and is a 2013 inductee into the Herkimer Community College Hall of Fame.
