LOWELL, MA (Jan. 22, 2008) – Shannon Hlebichuk, who recently capped her sixth year as head coach at UMass Lowell, will be featured in Sports Illustrated’s "Faces In the Crowd", due on shelves Wednesday.

Hlebichuk is the third UML coach or student-athlete featured in Faces in the Crowd since 2004. Former men’s basketball standout Elad Inbar, the 2003-04 NABC Division II Player of the Year, was included in 2004 and former field hockey standout Joanna DaLuze, Most Valuable Player of the 2005 NCAA Championship, was cited in 2005.

Hlebichuk was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) for the third time in five years on Jan. 11 following another sterling season.

Hlebichuk guided the River Hawks to a 19-3 clip in 2007 which included the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and regular season championships. She was named the NE-10 Coach of the Year for the fifth straight time in November.

Additionally, UML was selected host of the 2007 NCAA Tournament semifinal and championship, in which the River Hawks defeated Bentley (2-1 in overtime) before falling to 13-time champion Bloomsburg (5-2).

In six years as head coach, Hlebichuk and the River Hawks have compiled a splendid 100-31 record (.763), which includes, among other feats, five straight NE-10 Tournament titles and the 2005 national championship.

Hlebichuk has guided UML to NCAA Tournament semifinal appearances the last five years, in which the River Hawks advanced to the title match three times (2003, 2005, 2007).

Honors have been plenty in Hlebichuk’s tenure for her and her players. She has helped guide UML players to all-conference status 26 times and All-American honors 21 times, including five in both the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

A native of Amesbury, MA, Hlebichuk resides in Nashua, NH with her husband Korey and daughter Liv Marie.

Click here for SI's Faces in the Crowd.