Forward Heather Zurich was a fan favorite during her stint with the Scarlet Knights.New University of California-Santa Barbara coach and former Rutgers top assistant Carlene Mitchell has taken a piece of Piscataway with her to the West Coast.
Mitchell, who was named coach at UCSB last week, has filled out her coaching staff with a pair of former Scarlet Knights, the school announced.
Courtney Locke was hired as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Heather Zurich was named an assistant. Both were recruited to Rutgers by Mitchell during her 10 seasons at the school.
Locke, who played at Rutgers from 2002-06 and helped the team to four straight NCAA Tournament berths, spent the past three seasons as an assistant at Central Florida. She has also coached at Texas-San Antonio.
Zurich, a member of the Scarlet Knights' Final Four team in 2006-07, coached at Wagner College last season after playing professionally in the Netherlands. The former Pascack Valley standout was a team captain in 2008-09 as a senior.
Dave Hutchinson: dhutchinson@starledger.com