Ayres Promoted to Director of Athletics

BOSTON, Mass. - Angel Ayres, Associate Director of Athletics and Head Women's Soccer Coach at Wentworth Institute of Technology, has been promoted to the position of Director of Athletics, effective immediately. The announcement was made by Robert L. Totino, the Institute's Vice President of Finance.

"Wentworth is truly excited in having Angel Ayres become our next Athletic Director," said Totino. "Her managerial skill set in terms of vision, accountability and enthusiasm is exactly what we are looking for. We see Angel continuing Wentworth's long history of running a high quality Athletics department."

Ayres, who will continue to serve as the Leopards' women's soccer coach, is the only women's soccer coach the school has known, having built the program from the ground up during her 14 years at Wentworth.

"I am proud and honored to serve as Wentworth's next athletic director," said Ayres. "Wentworth has been close to my heart for the last 14 years and I look forward to building on a very strong and reputable foundation. I am excited to work with our dedicated and hard-working staff and I hope to bring a renewed energy to our department. My goal is to provide an environment where every student-athlete will have an experience they will always be proud of and one that they will always remember."

Hired in the spring of 1997, she organized a club team that competed that season as well as in the fall of 1997. The Leopards made their varsity debut during the 1998 season and began the season with a 3-0 record, en route to qualifying for the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament. A season later, Wentworth won 10 games for the first time and made a return appearance in the conference tournament.

From 2001-2005 Wentworth had a very successful five-year stretch. The Leopards posted a 63-33-2 (.653) record during this span and qualified for the CCC Tournament in each of those seasons—finishing no lower than fourth. The 2002 season saw Wentworth establish a new record for wins a season by the women's soccer program with 15 and followed that with the program's first-ever appearance in the CCC finals in 2003. The Leopards made four consecutive trips to the ECAC Division III Tournament, including in 2005 when they earned their highest seed (sixth) and fell to third-seeded Clark, 1-0, in the opening round. Wentworth found itself ranked in New England during parts of the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Her peers have recognized her hard work, as she has been voted the CCC Coach of the Year in 1999 and again in 2001.

During the 2009 season the Leopards were 2-8 with eight regular-season games to play, but won six of their last eight contests – with both losses coming by a single goal – to earn a spot in the CCC Tournament. Seeded seventh Wentworth upset second-seeded University of New England, 2-1, to make its first appearance in the semifinals since 2005. While the last two seasons have seen the Black & Gold miss out on CCC Tournament berths, the team has remained extremely competitive with 12 of its losses coming by a single goal.

She has coached five players who have earned All-New England honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, a CCC Rookie of the Year, three CCC Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year, and a two-time Academic All-America. Additionally, five of her former student-athletes have been inducted in Wentworth's Athletic Hall of Fame. Overall she has a career record of 127-125-8 (.503) and earned both her and the program's 100th win in a 3-1 triumph over Anna Maria on October 17, 2007. In 14 seasons her teams have qualified for post-season play 10 times.

In September, 1999, she was promoted to the position of Associate Director of Athletics for Women's Sports. In this position, she has overseen Wentworth's female varsity sports, including supervising each head coach and administering student-athlete evaluations at the conclusion of each season, as well as serving as Wentworth's Senior Women's Administrator. An active member of the campus community, Ayres was instrumental in the creation of a full-time women's basketball coaching position being added to the staff in 2000 and is the department's primary liaison to both the Admissions Office and the Office of Student Affairs.

As a collegiate student-athlete, she was a three-time (1990, 1991, 1992) National Soccer Coaches Association All-American at Springfield College. Ayres (nee Schofield) played four years for the Pride and had an outstanding career, graduating as the school's leading scorer. In 74 career games, she tallied 51 goals and 25 assists (127 points) and was a three-time (1990, 1991, 1992) Northeast-10 Conference First Team All-Star and two-time (1991, 1992) NE-10 Player of the Year. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation from Springfield in 1993 and earned her Master's degree in Recreational Therapy from Springfield four years later.

Prior to arriving at Wentworth, she had served as the Head Girls' Soccer Coach at Chelmsford (Mass.) High School (1993) as well as being an assistant women's soccer coach at her alma mater (1994-1996).

During her tenure she has served on both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's New England Regional Rankings Committee, as well as the NCAA New England Regional Advisory Committee and the Olympic Development Program. She is a frequent lecturer and clinician at various camps throughout the summer months.