Aug. 28, 2009
The North Carolina field hockey team will open the 2009 season Saturday, taking on Michigan in Iowa City, Iowa, as part of the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Tar Heels face the Wolverines at 3 p.m. ET to kick off the year, then will play the host Hawkeyes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
This marks the eighth season in a row that UNC will open against Michigan and Iowa. The event also includes Wake Forest.
After two weeks of preseason practice, UNC coach Karen Shelton is excited to see her team take the field. "We were fortunate this preseason to have several scrimmages, one with Duke and two with Wake Forest, and preseason scrimmages always point out areas that need attention," said Shelton, who is heading into her 29th season at the program's helm. "Throughout the series of scrimmages, I thought we progressively got better, but you never know what's going to happen in the opening weekend. We're looking forward to playing a game that counts and we're looking forward to playing in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge."
UNC is led by five seniors, two of whom were selected this week as the team's captains. Danielle Forword, from East London, South Africa, will serve as the squad's captain, while Illse Davids, from Plumstead, South Africa, will serve as its vice captain.
Carolina opens the year ranked fourth in the Division I Preseason poll. Defending champion Maryland is first with 572 points and 24 first-place votes. Other teams receiving first-place votes were UNC (two), Virginia (two) and Princeton (one).
2009 Kookaburra / NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll
Institution, Points, (first place votes in parentheses)
1. University of Maryland 573 (24)
2. Wake Forest University 513
3. Syracuse University 464
4. University of North Carolina 440 (2)
5. University of Connecticut 402
6. University of Virginia 387 (2)
7. Princeton University 379 (1)
8. Michigan State University 354
9. University of Iowa 329
10. Duke University 323
11. Penn State University 306
12. James Madison University 247
13. University of Louisville 230
14. American University 140
Tie Boston College 140
16. Old Dominion University 128
17. University of Massachusetts 126
18. Ohio State University 122
19. University of Michigan 121
20. Providence College 57
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Also Receiving Votes: Drexel University (52), Boston University (44), University at Albany (40),
Kent State University (40), University of California, Berkeley (38), Northwestern University (25),
Indiana University (19), Ohio University (12), Rutgers University (9), Lock Haven University (6),
University of Richmond (5), Bucknell University (4), Stanford University (4), Northeastern University (3),
University of Delaware (2), Harvard University (2), Temple University (2), Miami University (OH) (1),
University of New Hampshire (1).
