The departure of eight seniors from last year’s Iowa field-hockey team, including three former captains, leaves a significant leadership void.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of excited Hawkeyes to assume that role — not the least of which are the team’s three new captains.

On Aug. 22, head coach Tracey Griesbaum announced seniors Meghan Beamesderfer and Tricia Dean and sophomore Becca Spengler would take over as leaders. The trio was selected by their teammates, a format Griesbaum has always preferred over appointment.

But even if the 10-year coach did elect them, she couldn’t have chosen a better three for the job — especially the two seniors. Griesbaum cited preparation as the main reason Beamesderfer and Dean are both ready for the job.

“They are always fit,” Griesbaum said. “They have great experience. They’ve been starters for three years, they haven’t missed a game due to an injury or anything like that, and they really take pride in their academics. They’re pretty much the whole package.”

The senior duo appeared in all 23 of Iowa’s games last season, making 45 combined starts. But while Dean dished out 11 assists during the year, the pair only tallied 19 shots between them. Now, with 283 shots and 61 goals leaving Iowa City with last year’s seniors, both are guaranteed to receive more opportunities.

Beamesderfer, a native of Lititz, Pa., was honored to know that her teammates trust her so much. She feels her style of leadership complements Dean’s.

“Tricia has experienced everything that I have,” Beamesderfer said. “She’s very vocal, which also helps with me and Becca because we’re a little quieter than Tricia is — so it kind of balances out.”

Spengler, on the other hand, is a captain despite being just a sophomore — a rare occurrence on most college teams — especially when that sophomore is coming off a season in which she only started three games. Despite that, Griesbaum wasn’t surprised to find out her players had selected Spengler.

Griesbaum said she “represents our program really well. She has lots of good energy and came back really prepared.”

The news came as a slight surprise to the second-year midfielder, on the other hand.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” said Spengler, who graduated from the same high school as Beamesderfer. “I was just expecting this season to be me kind of learning as I go, but it’s also kind of cool to now have a leadership role.”

Beamesderfer also noted that Spengler serves as an especially good leader for the freshmen — after all, she went through the very same things just a year ago.

As ready as the captains are to lead the team, Griesbaum noted they won’t be alone in their leadership responsibilities.

“We are going to ask a lot of them,”she said. “They’re not trying to be who the seniors were, they’re just trying to be the best they can be.”