Drew University Athletics

A two-sport star at Shawnee High School, Cottingham first came to Drew as part of the Governor's School in the sciences and returned to campus a year later to play field hockey and lacrosse while majoring in mathematics and biology.  She spent three years as an intermittent starter in field hockey, playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N.C.A.A.) Division III Tournament during her very first season.

In lacrosse her impact was unmistakable.  Cottingham started every game for four years and as a sophomore was the third-leading scorer on a team that won the 1988 Middle Atlantic Conference (M.A.C.) championship and advanced to the N.C.A.A. national tournament ranked fourth in the nation.

The midfielder paced Drew in scoring as a junior and senior, finishing her career with 96 goals and 14 assists, sixth on the career scoring list.  Besides her two All-American selections and numerous All-MAC athletic and academic honors, the co-captain and 1990 most valuable player was twice named to the All-East team in lacrosse, twice to the first team of the Field Hockey Academic All-America Team, and twice to the first team of the GTE College Division At-Large Academic All-America Team.

Her senior season was especially fruitful.  The Women's Lacrosse Club of South Jersey named Cottingham the state's Division III Defensive Player of the Year, and she played in the North-South Collegiate All-Star Game in Baltimore. She was also chosen as the GTE College Division At-Large Academic All-American of the Year, received an N.C.A.A. Postgraduate Fellowship, and was the only Division III athlete to earn one of the 10 inaugural National Association of Directors of Athletics/Disney Scholar-Athlete Awards.