Hallie Cohen was a three-sport athlete competing for Rutgers in field hockey, softball and women’s basketball. She was the first recipient of a field hockey scholarship, led softball to the AIAW World Series and was a walk-on to the women’s basketball team.
A field hockey letterwinner from 1975-78, Cohen started in the backfield as a freshman, earned MVP honors in 1977 and 1978 and received a 1980 Olympic field hockey tryout.
In softball, Cohen was one of the most dominant pitchers in the country and to this date holds the Rutgers record for most shutouts in a season (11) and guided Rutgers to the 1979 AIAW World Series.
As a sophomore in 1977, Cohen fanned 60 batters while compiling a 2.58 ERA going 17-2 in regular season play. Rutgers, in only its third season of softball, went 23-7 and reached the EAIAW Regionals.
The following season, Cohen sported a 10-0 record with a 1.10 ERA and helped RU to a 17-1 regular season record and its second EAIAW Regional appearance.
As a senior in 1979, Cohen earned NJAIWA All-Conference honors as Rutgers reached the AIAW World Series with an unblemished 24-0 record. En route to the World Series, Cohen won 24 straight games and reached the AIAW national championship tournament with two-thirds of RU’s wins.
Cohen won two games during the Eastern Regional Tournament to lead Rutgers to the title and improve her record to 16-0 with a 6-0 victory over Glassboro State marking her 11th shutout of the season behind six strikeouts and no walks. Entering the championship tournament, Cohen completed 13 of her 14 starts with two wins in relief. She struck out 132 batters in 103 innings and only allowed 40 hits and six runs, five earned, holding down a 0.33 ERA with two no-hitters.
She was named the Home News Athlete of the Year after wrapping up her career “On The Banks” with a record of 39-3.
Following her Rutgers career, Cohen played 10 years of semi-pro softball and began a 40-year coaching career. She retired in 2019 ranking 10th all-time in Division III softball coaching victories (885-503-5) and entered the FDU-Florham Hall of Fame as a three-sport coach in 2019.
A graduate of Wayne Valley High School and a member of its Hall of Fame, Cohen earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1980.
